What's so particular about the marriage portal?

China traditional culture attaches great importance to the marriage portal, which is embodied in the following aspects:

Door-to-door: This is an important concept in China's traditional marriage, which means that both men and women have roughly the same family economic and social status. In addition to the matching of material conditions, it also includes the consideration of personality and the analysis of the date of birth of both parties to ensure the harmony and stability of marriage.

Xiangmen: Also known as Wangmen or blind date, it is a meeting activity arranged by elders or matchmakers before marriage. This activity was attended by relatives of both families, with the purpose of getting to know each other's situation more deeply, including family environment, demographic composition, personality characteristics and so on.

Proposal: On the basis of matchmaking, the man will hire a matchmaker and his family to propose to the woman. This process is called marriage proposal. The woman's family will consider the information provided by the man and decide whether to agree to the marriage.

The woman looks after the house: After the marriage proposal is successful, the woman's family usually sends a representative to visit the man's house in person to confirm the actual situation of the man's house. This process also involves the investigation of the man's family environment.

Engagement: After the two families reach an agreement, the man will invite the matchmaker and other relatives to visit the woman's house again with gifts, announce the formal establishment of the marriage, and agree on follow-up gifts.

Bride's entry etiquette: There are many specific etiquette norms for the bride to enter the door, such as not using the threshold, so as not to be considered as demeaning the behavior of the man's family members. Besides, brides usually stand firm after crossing the threshold to avoid tripping, which may bring bad luck.