The basic meaning of welcoming the bride

Meeting the bride is a traditional marriage etiquette in China. This is the most important gift in the wedding process. After meeting the bride, they officially got married. Because the worship ceremony in ancient weddings was held in the classroom, it was called. Also known as worship of heaven and earth, flowers and marriage. Widely popular in many parts of the country, Han, Beijing, Mulao and other ethnic groups have this custom.

In the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the worship of husband and wife was fixed as a marriage etiquette.

Before the Tang Dynasty, people in the northern area called it "Sacrifice Ceremony", which was held in a special Lu Qing (a house decorated with green curtains). In the Tang Dynasty, the word "meeting the bride" officially appeared.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, on the wedding day, the bride first worshipped the temple and held a wedding ceremony. At the fifth watch the next day, she used a table, put a mirror on the table and looked up. This was the so-called bride exhibition.

By the Southern Song Dynasty, this day was changed to wedding day. After the newlyweds sit in a sumptuous ceremony, they first take a towel to the main hall to uncover the bride's veil, and then "visit the church, visit the gods and temples, and attend the ceremony of relatives". Later generations usually worship heaven and earth before the bride on the wedding day.

During the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, there was a saying that worship of heaven and earth and ancestor worship were collectively called worship ceremony. In modern times, it is held at some time in the morning, afternoon and afternoon. Generally speaking, couples can set up confession tables, incense sticks and ancestral tablets on the mourning hall of the man's family to worship.

At the beginning of worship, candles, incense, firecrackers and music are burned. In this way, Li Sheng (the wedding host) shouted: "Cigarettes are ethereal, lamps and candles are brilliant, and the bride and groom are in the flower room together." After the couple is in place, they will chant "one worships heaven and earth, one worships Gaotang (parents), and the husband and wife worship each other and send them to the bridal chamber", as if bowing down in order. In feudal society, the bride and groom first visited their ancestors in the temple, and then the husband and wife paid homage. Zhejiang province sea! The producing area says that when a man marries his wife, he should worship heaven and earth three times before the fireworks. Modern weddings do not bow down, but bow to parents, and the newlyweds bow to each other, which is unconventional. In the existing historical materials, there is no record of couples paying homage to the court before the Han Dynasty, but there is a story in Shi Shuo Xin Yu, which can prove that the custom of paying homage to the court began in Xuzhou in the Jin Dynasty.

According to the records in the book, there was a Xuzhou secretariat named Wang Hun. Yuan Pei's wife died and married another. The second wife is Yan, a civilian with a relatively low status. When they visited the church, Yan first worshipped Wang Hun, and then Wang Hun was ready to answer. At this time, someone said to Wang Hun: You are a national first-class official, how can you worship her? Wang Hun didn't answer. Therefore, Yan is very angry.

Although the couple's worship was not finally completed, it shows that there was indeed a custom of worship in Xuzhou at that time.

If someone hadn't stirred it up, Wang Hun would have answered and worshipped. This also shows that the custom of mutual worship between husband and wife has just arisen, and Wang Hun will not worship or worship. Later, when the custom is mature, the groom's official should be worshipped no matter how old he is. According to the Book of Rites of Sui Shu, when the Emperor of Northern Qi held a wedding ceremony, both husband and wife should worship each other. However, women bow down first, and then bow down; After bowing down, get up first.

Since the Tang Dynasty, it has been widely practiced from the royal family to the common people. After the Song Dynasty, it became popular all over the country and was worshipped by heaven and earth, ancestors, aunts (in-laws) and couples, indicating that women have since become a member of the male family, thus becoming the most important gift in the wedding process. In modernization, the scope of "worshipping the church" has expanded. In addition to the ancestors of heaven and earth, we must also pay tribute to the Bi family and be friendly to our guests and friends. After visiting the ancestral temple in the village the day after the wedding, it is still necessary to pay tribute to the neighbors of the township party before the wedding.