FWIW I think that giving baby girls lots of gold over the years is a great tradition. Like many cultural traditions it also has a very pragmatic dimension. It means that as a woman she has 'insurance' if things go wrong for her. She can walk from an abusive marriage and know that she can sell her gold if she needs to, if she loses her home and job she can sell the jewelery to get by.
In DH's culture everyone gives the bride a gift of gold when she gets married which means that most women start their married life with a stash of gold that they can use as needed.
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