Anhui wedding customs with local characteristics

Wedding is a necessary ceremony for men and women to establish marriage relationship. Everyone has only one wedding in his life, so many areas attach great importance to weddings. In Anhui culture, due to the strong local ethnic flavor, a unique marriage custom has been formed. Let's learn about the wedding customs in Anhui.

Ask the media to propose marriage

Both men and women are of marriageable age, and parents think that the right family is right. The man can entrust a matchmaker to propose marriage to the woman, and some women propose marriage to the man's family. The matchmaker should be a "lucky" person, and the requirement is an even number of two to four people, that is, the so-called "four media celebrities", including the main media and accompanying media. When the matchmaker proposes marriage, it mainly introduces the situation of both sides, and there are many exaggerations when talking about men or women. As the saying goes, "the matchmaker doesn't lie, and he has nothing to say when he sits down." He also said that "the matchmaker keeps secrets from both sides", "ten matchmakers tell nine lies" and "the matchmaker has a mouth that can blow and coax" and so on. These scams often victimize many young men and women. Marriage through the media is called "matchmaker" or "rising red"

Hexagram

After proposing marriage, parents will write the birthdays, years, dates and zodiac signs of both men and women on grass paper, and the matchmaker will give them to each other, and then the fortune teller will calculate whether the marriage is "rushed", such as the so-called "fire and gold"; "A chicken is not worthy of a monkey" and "When a chicken sees a monkey, it worries every night"; It is unlucky to say that "the dragon is not worthy of the tiger" and "the dragon and the tiger fight against each other" and that "the ram is busy, the ewe is guarding the house" and "the mouse and the horse are fighting against each other".

If you do it, you can't get married even if you want to. This is a charlatan who uses the theory of five elements to judge the marital affairs of men and women. This is extremely unfavorable to women. If the woman is a tiger, she will be ordered to "kill her husband" and "kill her in-laws". Being regarded as "eight characters" is not good, which sets a serious obstacle in marriage. Therefore, the woman's family often bribed charlatans to change their birth dates, turning "mutual confrontation" into "mutual prosperity".

Because there is a saying that "ten women and nine are not true". After the "eight characters" are combined, the marriage between men and women can be initially decided. In Jixi area of southern Anhui, after birthdates crossed, birthdays and wives were written in red paper, which was called "little red book". The two sides send each other a copy and put it in front of their own "kitchen gods". After three or five days, if the family is safe, it is considered that this marriage has been acquiesced by the family god.

Observe and evaluate the suitability of future spouse or son.

After the stars crossed, the matchmaker agreed with the woman's parents that on a certain day, the matchmaker would accompany the man to seek relatives and visit relatives to the woman's house, so that the woman's parents could personally see the man's appearance, manner, knowledge and family situation. Both men and women can also take the opportunity to steal glances and not speak directly.

Xiangjia

The matchmaker took the woman to the man's house to meet his parents. The blind date is inquired by the woman's father, and the man's mother plays the leading role in the photo. The man's mother invited the woman to ask in the back room and carefully observed her clothes, shoes and decorations to measure her needlework and character. The woman takes this opportunity to inspect the house and furnishings of the man's house, especially the furniture and equipment in the new house, which is directly related to the future life of both men and women. In western Anhui, the woman went to the man's house, and the man's parents were very satisfied, so they changed the tea into sugar water, added some meat dishes, entertained dinner, and gave gifts when they left. If the woman drinks sugar water, eats wine and rice, and collects money and goods, it means that the woman has completely agreed.

Guogeng

Also known as Chuan Geng, Chuan Tie and Jue. After both men and women agree to get married, they must go through the engagement formalities. The so-called Geng Tie, also known as red and green slips, mandarin duck letters, approval letters and small books, is a wedding invitation with the names, birthdays and parents of both men and women. The earliest Geng posts should write the names of three generations of ancestors. The format of the invitation: a red envelope for external use, with a single red card and a full red button. The front cover and back cover are printed with golden dragon and phoenix patterns.

The man wrote the word "Gongqiu" in the middle of the single post, and the next paragraph wrote "My in-laws brother ××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××× The man called it "dried jujube" and the woman called it "Kunzao". So men are also called "Ben" and women are also called "Ben".

In the middle of the envelope, you should also write auspicious sentences such as "Qin Jin's hundred-year-old red leaves grow old together" and "a natural couple". The two sides will agree on an auspicious day after Geng Festival. In the morning, the man will fill out the "acceptance letter" and put it in Geng mailbox to receive the bride price, so that the matchmaker can send it to the woman's home. The woman received a grand reception; After filling in the "Admission Notice", put it in the Geng iron box together with the "Admission Notice", light incense on the incense table in the main room of Chen Fang and set off firecrackers. The woman's father bowed to Zu Lingxing first, and then bowed to the matchmaker to express his gratitude. Then ask the matchmaker to sit down. After the banquet, the matchmaker returned to the man's house with the Geng iron box, and the woman returned the gift.

The man also gave a big banquet to thank the matchmaker. When worshipping ancestors, the man himself should follow his father to salute his ancestors and give a big gift to the matchmaker. After the completion of Guo Geng, the marriage between the two sides was officially settled.

Send a bride price

Also known as "Li" and "Hire", it was called "Shou" in ancient times. The betrothal gift should be given to men and women after their engagement, and the bride price should be given to the woman on an auspicious day. This is an important etiquette in traditional marriage customs, and the success or failure of marriage often depends on it. In southwest Anhui, through the prior matchmaker, the family of both men and women negotiated and bargained. With the consent of the woman, the man's family will issue a list of gifts, indicating the variety and quantity of gifts, and entrust the matchmaker to send them to the woman's family, or attach them to the wedding ceremony when giving gifts.

The bride price of the man is directly related to the dowry of the woman. When the bride holds a wedding, the receiver will give the bride clothes. As the saying goes, "Eat the cake and grow a neck". When the man gives a gift, he should give the woman several sets of clothes.

Attach a greeting card (or greeting card) when recruiting. The greeting card is wrapped in red paper and covered with red notes. Generally, there are ten greeting cards, which are called "All Cambodia" and have a fixed format. If it is for the woman's father, the book says "Mr. XXX is an in-laws", and the book says "My brother-in-law nodded and obeyed", and a list of gifts is attached, indicating the variety and quantity.

After the bride price is ready, put it in a suitcase (a concave suitcase for gifts) and a laundry list, on which are placed auspicious things such as cypress branches, red dates, longan and peanuts. The word "hi" written on red paper should be posted on the outside of the suitcase and laundry list, and the matchmaker and porter should be invited to deliver it to the woman's house, which should be greeted with firecrackers and wrapped in red paper. If the daughter lives in a big village, the bride's clothes and accessories will be displayed to the guests and neighbors in the hall.

After being hired, anyone who is not married in those years will send three gifts to her husband's family every year, that is, four-color gifts for her parents during the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival.

Choose a wedding date

Also known as "choosing a day", "choosing an auspicious day" and "reporting a day", it is also called "writing a book". By mutual agreement, the "fortune teller" is invited to choose the wedding date. Traditional weddings attach great importance to the choice of "auspicious day"; The so-called "auspicious day of the ecliptic" is based on the theory of the stars' destiny, which divides the days into twelve types: construction, fullness, peace, harvest (the day of the underworld), removal, danger, determination, persistence (the day of the ecliptic), success, opening (the day of the underworld), combination and breaking, and daily cycle.

Generally, if you can't find a lucky day, just choose two months and two days, but the 30 th "doomsday" can't be used. In addition, the dates chosen in various places are two days, one in the first half and the other in the second half, for the mother to choose, in order to avoid the bride's menstrual period and choose an auspicious day. Although it contains many superstitious impurities, it reflects the psychology of the public and the beautiful wishes of newlyweds to grow old together. After the wedding date is fixed, write it in red paper, and the man prepares four-color gifts for the matchmaker to send to the woman's house. Both sides are busy preparing for the wedding.