Marriage in
China
China is a big country comprising of 56
nationalities with different marriage customs and rituals, all
complex in their own special ways. One of the most popular ones is
that of Han nationality covering 94% of the entire China population.
Marriages in China traditionally involve six customary procedures,
viz. matchmaking, engagement, betrothal gifts, bridal meeting, three
bows and drinking wedlock wine.
In the first stage of matchmaking, the
matchmaker meets the girl on behalf of the boy, and enquires about
her age, date and year of birth and her family background, and then
takes the gather information to an astrologer or fortune-teller to
predict the twos future together as husband and wife.
At the time of engagement, a ceremony is
held where an engagement certificate is exchanged between the two
parties indicating the hour, day, month and year of each others
birth and each pair consists of one Heavenly Stem and one Earthly
Branch.
Betrothal gifts are presented to the
girls family by the boys family, such as ladies wear, jewellery
and money. While the girls family may gift men's wear such as hat,
shoes or stationary besides dowry to the boys family in return.
The stage of bridal meeting involves the
meeting of the groom to the bride when he goes to her home to meet
her. At that time, the bride is veiled and carried with many bells
ringing and drums beating in a sedan chair for the wedding.
During Three Bows, the new couple stands
beside each other and makes three bows, wherein the first bow is for
heaven, earth and ancestors; second bow is for parents and third bow
towards each other. This ritual is also called bow to Heaven and
Earth and is the most essential custom in the wedding to be
complete in all respects.
The last and most exciting stage of the
wedding is drinking wedlock wine. Soon after the wedding takes
place, the duo exchanges a couple of toasts and drinks to rest in
the end.
Today, in a typical Chinese wedding, a
new couple is engaged and the only important thing they consider is
the date of their marriage. Many Chinese people prefer to set a bank
holiday or any festival day as the date of their marriages so that
their relatives and friends also do not face any problem in
attending their wedding and shower their blessings upon the couple.
People living in and around the countryside though prefer asking the
fortune-teller for the best date for their wedding so that they
achieve double happiness after marriage.
Copyright 2009, BB Automacao Inc.,
New York, USA. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any format is expressly
prohibited unless our written authorization is obtained upfront.
