Giving a housewarming gift

Factual Questions
1

I need to call on the combined knowledge of the teeming millions please for a fast answer.

Currently planning a large scale community event for public housing, I wish to give away / sell a gift to participants.

This will comprise a “Housewarming Package” of items intended to bring goodluck to hte homeowner / occupier.

However my organisation is VERY conservative, so I want to make sure that the contents will not cause offense to any religious or community groups in any way shape or form.

The items are listed here:

— A wooden plaque with a pair of 2010 specially minted coins mounted (coins represent prosperity, wood represents harmony)

— Fresh Bread: represents a full larder

— Scented Candle: represents light and truth

— Honey: represents a sweet life

— Money Plant: plants represent growth

— Salt in a Special Container: represents a flavourful / interesting life

— 3D Wooden family name mounted in frame designed for mounting on door / gate: wood represents harmony, the name plaque allows people to personalise their home

Please do note I am looking for (as close to) a factual answer as I can get, so please only answer for a / your specific religion, or if you feel comfortable enough in your knowledge to speak on behalf of your religion. Please, I also don’t want a debate over whether I should be giving gifts, or “how can anybody take offense at that”

Just for reference - I can’t find any religious or overt cultural problems with any of these, and they will NOT be “prayed over” or otherwise “blessed”.

For the record, the religions I am most interested in are"
[ol]
[li]Christianity[/li][li]Islam[/li][li]Buddhism[/li][li]Taoism[/li][li]Sikhism[/li][li]Hinduism[/li][li]Judaism[/li][/ol]

Thanks!

2

Well, some fundamentalists might take offense at the items not being blessed, but other than that, I can’t see any offense to Christians. Some of the symbolism you’re using is used in the Gospels, as well.

3

I can’t imagine anybody being offended over gifts as general and with such a nice thought as your list, but some people are very weird.

The only housewarming gifts I know of are bread and salt, which goes back to the dawn of time. (if you have the time, the bread can be woven into a braid, or you can bake the little glass with the salt into the bread, but if you don’t have the time, just get some original-looking peasant bread from a wood oven.

However, I believe that in order for the luck in the superstition to work, the bread and salt have to be gifted, not sold. (The wooden nameplates, which will also require money upfront, I presume - or are they done in wood shop by school children/ a project?) can be sold, since they aren’t part of the traditional gift-superstition.

good luck with your nice idea!

4

Observant Jews would accept the bread, but not eat it, as homemade bread would not be certified kosher. Some might feel the same about the honey and salt as well.

I never heard of a “money plant” before, but I see that Wikipedia gives three different blants which are called that.