A bomboniere (), singular "bomboniera", (; Italian, from French ''bonbonnière'', a box containing " bonbons") is a kind of fragrant-smelling party favor given out on special occasions such as weddings,

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

First Communion First Communion is a ceremony in some Christian traditions during which a person of the church first receives the Eucharist. It is most common in many parts of the Latin tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communion (ot ...

Confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...

. It usually consists of five

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in a festive bag, with the almonds symbolizing

health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

wealth Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an ...

happiness Happiness is a complex and multifaceted emotion that encompasses a range of positive feelings, from contentment to intense joy. It is often associated with positive life experiences, such as achieving goals, spending time with loved ones, ...

fertility Fertility in colloquial terms refers the ability to have offspring. In demographic contexts, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to reproduce, which is termed fecundity. The fertility rate ...

and long life. The bag is typically made of

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and tied with ribbons. The almonds are white for a wedding,

; pink or light-blue for the birthday or baptism of a girl or boy; red for a graduation; and silver or gold for 25 or 50 year anniversaries. Often they are adorned with dried natural flowers or artificial flowers made of silk or paper. The bag is often given stored inside a small vessel made of silver, crystal or porcelain. In

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, a bomboniere is party favor given out at weddings, first holy communions and the like. Such gifts may take the form of a wine bottle stopper, glass vase or picture frame as well as the more traditional sugared almonds in decorative bags.{{cite web , url=http://www.petitcadeau.com.au/bomboniere-handcrafted-gifts/about_us , title=About Bomboniere , last= , first= , work=Bomboniere , publisher= , accessdate=2015-11-26 , quote=bomboniere for your wedding, engagement, christening, baptism, holy communion, bridal shower, baby shower, kitchen tea, birthday party, anniversary or any other special occasion Image:Samples of Italian favors for First Communion.jpg, Sample of Italian favors used for First Holy Communion Image:portaconfetti.jpg, Sample of Italian favor made with special ribbon containing 5 sugared almonds. Note the printed tags Image:dried_flowers.jpg, Sample of Italian favors made with dried flowers

Torta Bomboniera

Another type of bomboniera is the Favor Cake or "Torta Bomboniera" as it is called in Italy. It is made using little carton boxes forming one or more tiers of a "cake". Inside each box are sugared almonds and a card printed with the data of ceremony (names, date etc.). On each box is glued one of several types of fine objects made of many materials. Some samples are below, for various ceremonies: Image:TORTA167.jpg, Favor Cake with 40 carton boxes and porcelain flowers, usable for wedding etc. Image:TORTA145.jpg, Favor Cake with 40 carton boxes and Tweety figurines, usable for Birthday, Baptism, First Holy Communion etc. Image:TORTA107.JPG, Favor Cake with 40 carton boxes and glass shells hand-made in Murano (Venice, Italy) Image:TORTA093.jpg, Favor Cake for wedding, with 40 carton boxes and figurines of bride & groom Image:TORTA055.JPG, Favor Cake with 40 carton boxes with

Minnie Mouse Minerva "Minnie" Mouse is an American cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. The longtime sweetheart of Mickey Mouse, she is an anthropomorphic mouse with white gloves, a red or pink bow, blue (or pink or red) polka-dotted dress, w ...

and

Daisy Duck Daisy Duck is an American cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. She is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic white duck that has large eyelashes and ruffled tail feathers around her lowest region to suggest a skirt. She is often s ...

figurines, for birthday or Christening Image:TORTA069-24.jpg, Favor Cake with 24 carton boxes and glass sailor ships Image:TORTA185.jpg, Favor Cake with 40 red carton boxes and figurines of graduates Image:TORTA094M.JPG, Favor Cake with 40 carton boxes and glass earth globes Another type is made using porcelain boxes shaped and hand decorated like an edible ''bignè'' or cream puff. Inside each box there are five sugared almonds and a card printed with the date of the ceremony. Italians call this type the "Pasticceria Artigianale in Porcellana" (Porcelain Artisan Pastries). Image:TORTA003-A-01.JPG, Favor Cake with porcelain boxes and sugared almonds, heart shaped Image:CAR-G2336.jpg, Porcelain boxes with sugared almonds, round shaped Image:TORTA004-01c.jpg, Favor Cake made with carton boxes and porcelain magnets formed like cream puff and central porcelain box. Inside carton boxes there are the sugared almonds.

References

Confectionery