What is the origin of engagement?

The origin of ancient engagement custom;

"Five Rites" once said that since the later Qi Dynasty, regardless of the emperor and the common people, weddings are "one for receiving gifts, the other for honoring names, the third for receiving gifts, the fourth for receiving gifts, the fifth for inviting guests and the sixth for welcoming guests."

This is the six stages of ancient wedding, commonly known as the "Six Rites". Divided as follows:

First, Na Cai: This is the first stage of marriage proposal. After the man asked the media to propose, the woman agreed to propose. The man prepared a gift and proposed to the woman's house. The gift is a wild goose, and all wild geese must be alive. Why use geese? Wild goose is a migratory bird, symbolizing the meaning of yin and yang. Later, it came up with a new idea, saying that the geese lost their spouses and would never pair up for life to gain their loyalty.

Second, ask the name: after the proposal, let the matchmaker ask the woman's date of birth and name to prepare for the wedding ceremony. ?

Najib: It is a ritual to inform the woman of the good news of marriage after asking the name. Also known as "subscription". This is the main ceremony at the engagement stage. In ancient customs, geese are used as a token of marriage as usual. Later, it was developed to use rings, jewelry, colored silk, gift cakes, gift candles, and even sheep and pigs, so it was also called sending or hiring.

Iv. Briding: After the engagement, the man's family will send a bride price to the woman's family, which is a gift at the wedding stage. This kind of wedding is also commonly known as the end of employment or big employment, big gifts and so on. Later, this ceremony also adopted the practice of returning gifts, returning part or all of the food in the dowry; Or after being hired, the wife will give the man a coat, hat, shoes and socks as a gift. The number of betrothal gifts and the names of items are auspicious and wishful, and the number is double taboo table.

5. Invitation date: After the bride price is delivered, choose the wedding date, prepare the gift to the woman's home, and get the consent of the ceremony. Goose is used as usual in ancient customs, and gifts are generally simple. Bridal gifts are often combined with bride price, and the wedding date and gift money are decided at the same time.

6. Kissing: This is a ceremony for the newly married husband to meet his wife. This ceremony is often regarded as the main procedure of the wedding, while the first five items are regarded as transitional etiquette such as marriage negotiation and engagement. Some of these forms are out of the need of social relations, such as going to the woman's house to "make up makeup", going to the man's house to "make a face" and "make a wedding", all of which are rituals to establish social relations. This ceremony is purely a part of the wedding. Generally, sedan chairs are used, which are divided into double roofs or single roofs. The "seeing the bride off" to help the bride get on the sedan chair and the "seeing the bride off" to accompany the groom to the woman's home have their own requirements, such as getting off the sedan chair, returning to the horse, welcoming the car, getting off the sedan chair, paying homage to heaven and earth, entering the bridal chamber, etc ... There are several to a dozen forms in each process, and most of them express their wishes. The wedding season is generally in spring, and the country is founded by agriculture, which coincides with the slack season and bumper harvest, just in time for marriage.

After the "Six Rites" of marriage, the bride entered the transition period and returned to her family's "mothering" until the bride entered the reproductive period, and the second generation held a fertility ceremony. From then on, the wedding is just a family celebration anniversary, which is celebrated according to the anniversary (a grand celebration ceremony with "flowers", called bigamy wine) and celebrated every year until the whole year. In foreign countries, married for 25 years, silver marriage. Married for 50 years, golden wedding. These are all commemorative ceremonies of the wedding.