In China, customs and rituals are a vital part of the
wedding. Even though some of them have been lost as years passed by, there are
still many which are followed today.
For Chinese people, the marriage is much more than a joining
of the bride and groom; it is the union between two families. The families will
get involved in organizing the wedding and will play an important part in the
partners’ life as a couple. Before starting organizing the wedding, the two
families will meet and the groom’s family will offer various gifts to the
bride’s family. In this way, it is considered that their engagement is
established. Then, they will have to consult a fortune teller who is able to
predict the perfect date for their matrimony.
The bride’s family should then start preparing the dowry,
which consists of daily necessities for the couple’s new home. The parents
usually include in their daughter’s dowry things like dining sets and linens.
With a few days before the wedding, the items will be sent to the groom
parents’ home or to the couple’s new home, depending on the situation. On the
wedding day, a woman with both her parents living, with children and husband
ties up the bride’s hair in a bun that has a certain design which is worn by
married women.
At the same time, she says auspicious words, which are intended
to bring luck to the bride. Then the groom arrives at the bride’s house, but he
is prevented from entering by the bride’s relatives and friends. This ritual
has ancient origins and signifies that the bride is a beautiful girl and her
family members and close friends don’t want her to get married. The groom is
asked questions about the bride to test whether he knows her sufficiently and
cares for her. He will have to answer these questions correctly and he will try
also to buy his way in by giving money wrapped in red envelopes. When the bride
finally comes to the door, she is attended by a bridesmaid who will hold a red
umbrella over her head while the bride will lead to the car. The red umbrella
has a certain meaning also and it symbolizes the attempt of keeping evil spirits
away.
The wedding ceremony is officiated in an intimate
atmosphere. The bride and groom don’t exchange wedding vows, but bow three
times to ancestors, to heaven and earth, to their parents and then to each
other. The ceremony proceeds with an important ritual which is performed by the
bride. She offers to the relatives tea in sequence of seniority and receives
from them gifts which consist of jewelry or money wrapped in red envelopes. Nowadays,
Chinese brides wear at least three wedding dresses in their wedding day. They
start with the modern white wedding dress for the civil ceremony, then change
into a traditional Chinese wedding dress for the tea ceremony and then they can
wear cocktail dresses. The traditional Chinese wedding dress is red, because in
their culture the color red is a symbol of good luck and is supposed to drive
away evil spirits. It is embroidered with complex silver and gold designs and
in northern China the dress usually has a single piece, whereas in southern
China it is usually composed of two pieces.
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