What is the marriage custom in Yangquan, Shandong?

There are generally four steps in the marriage procedure: talking about marriage, getting engaged, getting married, and returning to the door.

Marriage negotiation is the initial stage of marriage between men and women. In the old society, men and women could not meet each other because of their parents' wishes, and whether they could get married depended entirely on the result of "marriage". Later, I added a blind date. The method is that the introducer takes the man to the woman's house to see her appearance and figure. The woman's father, or the woman herself and her mother sometimes go to the man's house to see the house and living room and inquire about his social popularity. When the marriage is completed, the two families will choose an auspicious day to exchange Geng positions. The two sides prepare red book stickers, re-indicate the birth dates of both men and women, and exchange them to show loyalty. As the local saying goes, the woman was "taken away". Later, because people broke the superstition and canceled the "marriage" link, the procedure of "changing stickers" was also exempted.

Engaged. In the old days, the core content of engagement was to suit each other, regardless of age. Generally,/kloc-was engaged before the age of 0/5, even when she was five or six years old. Some boys hire eldest daughters, and some eldest sons-in-law marry little girls, but usually the woman is older than the man. When engaged, the man's family should send bride price and big gift money to the woman's family, formerly known as "accepting employment" All the gifts are designated by the woman's family. For example, the bride price names of Baode and Hequ are "three sets of two pairs", that is, three collars and two pairs of bracelets; "Bonus bride price", that is, red cloth and blue cloth are one foot and two feet each; "Pork rolls with uncooked rice", that is, a barrel of white rice, a barrel of mung beans, a barrel of red dates, a bite of white pigs, twenty-four steamed buns, and yinyang wrapped in red paper. The woman's family gave her son-in-law only symbolic gifts, such as a hat, a pair of boots and a "hard waist". Before liberation, poor families could not afford the bride price, so they had to sell their houses and land. They were heavily in debt and could not turn over for life. There is also a custom called "eat watermelon moon cakes for three years" near Chengguan, Baode, that is, within three years after engagement, every Mid-Autumn Festival, the man puts four good watermelons in a box and gives the moon cakes to the woman in different towers. In Hequ area, before getting married, 24 cakes of 2 kg of fried noodles, 120 cakes, one sheep, one pig, two pots of wine, two cakes and one cake should be sent to the woman's house.

Marriage is also called marriage. When both men and women reach the locally recognized age for marriage, both men and women will negotiate the date of marriage. Generally, the male family asks the Yin and Yang teacher to choose the date first, and the introducer informs the female family with a gift. It is usually the date when the woman's family agrees with the man's family. However, careful women have to ask the Yin and Yang teacher to change the date to see if there are any "taboos". In Baode, you can choose any day after the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, which is called "catching up with chaos".

Get married. After the wedding date is determined, both parties will make preparations and inform relatives and friends first. Generally, every household has to order a sedan chair and invite musicians. On the wedding day, the groom sits in a sedan chair, wears a dress and crosses the red, accompanied by the best man, and goes to the woman's house to meet the bride. Poor people can't afford a sedan chair, so they use donkeys to pick up the bride, commonly known as "moving in the open." In some places, because the mountain road is remote and rugged, a special means of transportation-"mule carrying sedan chair" is used to get married, that is, a long sedan chair is tied between two poles, and two mules are carried in tandem, and the cattle are driven by a "mule driver" dressed in black and wrapped in a white towel, which is both stable and safe, and saves manpower. The person who sent the wedding banquet didn't come back that day. After the wedding procession arrived at the woman, the bride's younger brother went out to meet her in Daixian area and put "flowers" on the groom's head. After the groom enters the hospital, he wants to drink tea and eat dried fruit snacks. This is called "waiting for the son-in-law". The son-in-law in Hequ area is allowed to eat "small meals"-four dishes of side dishes, dried noodles and soju. After eating, urge the bride to get on the sedan chair. The bride wore a rockhopper, a robe, a jade belt around her waist and a red silk veil, and went out with the groom. At this time, the bride was crying, and her mother's cheeks were covered with tears. The mother and daughter were inseparable and even cried. The woman's family takes this opportunity to make some small conditions, which is customarily called "the first blow to the daughter", and the man's family gives some money, flour or meat, which is called "saving the face of the mother" and "saving the meat of the mother". After noon, the bride got into the sedan chair and set off. When the wedding team comes home, they set off firecrackers first and then make a fire in front of the gate. The wedding banquet invited the farewell banquet to enter the room for entertainment. The bride can't step on the mud when she gets off the sedan chair. The farewell party will be carried or left in the yard. When the bride enters the door, aunts and aunts of the same age as her mother-in-law will smear and blush on her face. In Lan County, it is a shame for my father-in-law to seek good luck. When visiting the church, arrange it in the order of "three halls inside and three halls outside". Worship heaven and earth first, then ancestors, then parents, and then elders, relatives and friends of the same clan. They cannot be reversed at will. After the worship, the bride and groom entered the bridal chamber, the bride sat facing the wall, and the groom took off the red veil for her. In some places, a flower on the bride's head is inserted at the highest place in the bridal chamber. Folk songs include "arranging flowers on the wall, holding dolls in those days" and "planting high, raising early, having children next year". In Hequ area, after the groom picks out the skull, he will comb the bride's hair several times, and then comb the bun into a net with the new hairpins given by her husband's family, commonly known as "top", indicating that this woman is his wife from now on. Then, use the bow and arrow in the square table to shoot at the four corners of the bridal chamber, thinking that evil spirits can be driven away. The bride should measure a piece of red cloth with a ruler and cut it with scissors to show that she can sew well and make a living after marriage. Pregnant women and widows are forbidden to enter the bridal chamber. Dressing as a bride at night, making trouble in the bridal chamber is commonly known as "no size in three days". The whole wedding is full of joy and excitement.

Back to the door. The second day after marriage, in some places it is the fifth or ninth day. When the bride and groom return to their parents' homes, the groom should bow to the elders of Zhang Yue's family, commonly known as "recognizing the size". In Baode, younger brothers and sisters want to make fun of their brother-in-law. Most of them put more spices on their meals, such as pepper, vinegar and pepper. I also want to wrap a jiaozi for the groom, calling it "pinch your mouth and eat flat food" to prevent the son-in-law from speaking ill. On the same day, the bride and groom must go back to the man's house and are not allowed to stay at their parents' house. This is called "going back and forth". At this point, the whole wedding process came to an end.