Similarities and Differences between Canadian and Chinese Wedding Customs

Canada is a multi-ethnic country, there are British, French, Indians, Eskimos, Chinese and a small number of European, American and Asian immigrants. All of these ethnic groups have their own traditional habits and customs, which are also expressed in the wedding, thus making Canada a country with colorful wedding customs.

Shopping

Canada's British and French residents are mostly Catholic or Christian, and their wedding customs have many similarities to those of Western Christian countries.

Most young Canadians attach great importance to their weddings, and they always strive to make their weddings grand, colorful and memorable, usually starting the preparations several months or even a year before the wedding. In recent years, Canadian government departments at all levels have set up a network of marriage counseling agencies across the country, and men and women who are ready to celebrate their wedding can go to shopping malls, restaurants, hotels and even city halls for newlywed shopping counseling, which is free of charge. If the consultant is satisfied, he or she can purchase items on the spot under the guidance of a shopping guide, with free home delivery service. There are also annual exhibitions and fairs for wedding goods, which are held in various places.

Colorful car

Canadian young men and women like to hold weddings in the period from May to September, especially love in July to tie the knot, and the wedding ceremony is more often than not on Saturday this day. During this period, every weekend, Canada's urban and rural churches from morning to night from the pleasant "Wedding March", the bride and groom riding the colorful caravan slowly driving, onlookers reported warm applause and laughter, met the vehicle honked to express congratulations, all immersed in the joyful atmosphere. Because many men and women choose to hold their weddings at the same time, the church is extremely busy, so all the preparations must be contacted three or four months before the wedding. Canadians love flowers, their wedding flowers are very elaborate, church, banquet hall, the new room should be decorated with roses, orchids, lilies, colorful, fragrant, so the purchase of flowers is also an important thing.

Wedding Ceremony

Held in the church, the ceremony is broadly similar to many Western countries. In Canada, newlyweds give each other rings with their initials and date of marriage engraved on the inside, which are treasured as a permanent reminder of their marriage. Church ceremony is over, the newlyweds will be dressed up in a colorful car along the busy area to walk around, and then to the scenic parks or attractions to take pictures of the newlyweds together.

Canadians generally choose to hold the wedding party in the evening, first an informal reception, followed by a formal cold and hot meals, the atmosphere is warm, the scene is grand. Canadian newlyweds also have the habit of traveling on their honeymoon after marriage. Because of Canada's long winters, so the economic conditions of the good, more love to the Caribbean islands and the United States of America's Florida to go on vacation, enjoy the sun, sand and sea. The income is not rich, more to the domestic scenic resorts to play, such as Quebec's Laurentian Mountains, the Rocky Mountains of the ban axe and Lake Louise and other places.

Chiefs

Canadian Indian weddings have a strong national color. Wedding location more choice in the Indian settlement public **** building held, usually a larger wooden house. When the wedding was held, friends and relatives, neighbors, village residents have come to the wooden house, people sitting on the ground, greet each other. Men, women and children dressed in national costumes, new styles, colorful. Although the Indians are cheerful, but the wedding occasion is very quiet, even if the speech is also softly spoken.

The masters of ceremonies at the wedding were the chief and the two elders, and when they came on the scene the whole house saluted them in honor. The chief was dressed in his national costume, and the tall feather on his head, a symbol of authority, stood out. The chief took his place in the center of the hall, and the two elders sat to the left and right of the chief, the oldest men in the area, with gray and white hair in long braids hanging over their shoulders. The bride and groom, dressed in traditional white buckskin attire, knelt across from the chief. Adult men sit around the chiefs, elders, and the bride and groom, while women and children sit on the periphery of the men, with knives, forks, and plates and bowls in front of each.

Ceremony Begins

The chief faces the air and raises his hands in the air as the room falls silent. He lights the mugwort, and as a plume of green smoke accompanied by a strong aroma rises, the chief prays to the gods in the national language, blessing the newlyweds. After the chief had finished, the elders on the left and right sides of the song said and sang the song in a bold and rough voice. After the prayer, the chief took a long pipe smoking gun from his body, lit it on the mugwort, then held the gun flat on his chest, turned around from left to right, and put it into his mouth to take a few puffs. The pipe is then handed to the Elder on the left, who does the same as the Chief and hands it to the Elder on the right, and then passes it on to the bride, groom, and guests. According to traditional Indian custom, the pipe symbolizes peace and smoking indicates friendship. When everyone present has smoked, four young men carry a large bucket of soup, the bride and groom first for the chief and the elders, each with a bowl, the chief will then be distributed in five or six small buckets, and then distributed to everyone present. According to traditional Indian customs, the groom before the wedding to try to hunt a deer, with venison and wild rice boiled into a soup, the wedding to everyone to drink. According to the old custom, the Indian wedding to eat cornbread, should also eat roasted bison, but today's bison has become a protected animal, so many people's wedding roasted bison with the United States "Kentucky Fried Chicken" instead. In this way, Indo-Chinese weddings maintain the traditional customs of their people, but are also influenced by Western culture. At the end of the feast, the chiefs and elders leave, and the people come to a clearing to dance the traditional Indian Sun Dance all night long to the sound of cheerful drums.

The Eskimo people of northern Canada are still practicing the ancient custom of "bride kidnapping". Eskimos pay attention to sincere feelings, do not pay attention to the form of marriage. A pair of young men and women to produce love, the development to a certain extent, the man to the woman's home to build a house or to give the woman a set of clothes that can keep out the cold, female family members to live in the house or the woman put on the clothes, even if the marriage between each other to determine the relationship. Eskimo weddings are often held in the middle of winter, when the snow makes it impossible to go out fishing or hunting. On the day of the wedding, the man secretly hides in the vicinity of the woman's home, and when the opportunity arises, he "snatches" the girl. The girl naturally know that the young man outside the door to freeze, in order to test whether he is loyal, deliberately deep inside, so that he is difficult to "snatch" to hand. Clever young man, always use the scheme to lure the girl out of the house, to achieve the purpose of "snatch" people. If the wedding is chosen in the summer, the young man can drill into the woman's home, pulling the girl to run out, the girl pretended not to obey, the family turned a blind eye, and finally the girl's cries slowly disappeared in the distance. Eskimo wedding exceptionally simple, the groom of the new Luang bowed to the family elders, parents and brothers, friends and relatives, and so on, the group ate a meal of fish, drink a bowl of fish soup, indulge in a dance, the wedding announced the end of the guests left.