China is a large country with 56 nationalities. Different nationalities have different marriage customs, but whatever the nationality is, the wedding ceremony is usually very complicated. In addition, there is one saying in china that the three most delightful moments in one's life come with success in the imperial examination, marriage and the birth of a son.
In fact, the importance of getting married was far more than that a person found his better half. For the male side, it determined the prosperity and even the future fame of their family; while for the female side, it meant that parents lost the chance of seeing their daughter for a long time. Thus to choose an ideal partner was vital for both the individual and the family.
In the book Propriety and Ceremony, which records earliest wedding ceremony, says that marriage includes six etiquettes, proposing, birthday matching, sending betrothal presents to the girl's family, presenting the wedding gifts, discussing the date of marriage and wedding ceremony.
Proposing, when the parents of a boy intend to make a match, they will invite a matchmaker to propose with them at the girl's home. If the proposal is successful, however, the matchmaker (usually a woman) will be rewarded with profuse gifts and feasts to show the two families' gratitude. Many unmarried young people could not see and are unfamiliar with each other till their wedding day.
Birthday matching, it happens after they know the full name and birthday of the girls, then they would ask a future teller to predict whether the two will have a happy marriage.
Sending betrothal presents to the girl's family, this processure is to tell them that they have a good match, which can definitely go into the next step, and the matchmake would take some gifts to cerebrate for the girl's family.
Presenting the wedding gifts, This is the grandest etiquette of the whole process of engagement. Prolific gifts is presented again to the girl's family, symbolizing respect and kindness towards the girl's family as well as the capability of providing a good life for the girl.
Discussing the date of marriage, if the girl's family satisfies the gifts of the boy provides, the two families will go to ask the future teller to choose a date according to the astrological book when it will be proper and propitious to hold the wedding ceremony.
Wedding ceremony, the wedding ceremony begins with the groom and his party meeting the bride in her home. Before this day the bride's dowry will be sent to the boy's house. The dowry represents her social status and wealth, and will be displayed at the boy's house.
In Chinese marriage custom, the matchmaker functions almost all the time and youths have no right to choose and women are not on an equal footing with men. in recent years (especially after the founding of modern China), people have tended to discard some of the details and advocate simplified marriage procedures and wedding ceremonies.
Orignal From: Traditional Marriage Custom in China
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