Traditional Chinese Wedding Customs

Traditional Chinese wedding customs are as follows:

1, the ancient three books

The book of engagement: that is, the instrument of engagement. In the Naji (men and women to enter into a marriage contract), the male family handed over to the female family of the book invitation.

Rites of passage: that is, in the great gift of the instrument used to set out the great gift of the goods and the number.

Welcome book: that is, to welcome the bride's paperwork. Is the pro meet the bride over the door, the male party to the female party's paperwork.

2, the ancient six rites

Na Cai: this is the first stage of the marriage, the man asked the matchmaker to propose marriage, the woman agreed to discuss the marriage, the man prepared to go to the woman's home to propose marriage, the gift is the geese, geese should always live. The gift is a goose, and all geese must be alive. This is called "Dien Yan" in the Rites of Passage. Geese are only married once in a lifetime, after the spouse will be inseparable, and if one of the two dies, the other will only be single and will never be married again. To reflect the couple's chastity, the qin and se, the good hope of old age.

Ask for the name: After the marriage proposal, ask the matchmaker to ask for the woman's date of birth and name in preparation for the marriage ceremony.

Naji: The ritual of informing the woman of the good news of the marriage after asking for her name, also known as "betrothal". This is the main ritual of the engagement stage. Ancient custom, as a rule, to use geese, as a token of marriage has been determined. After the development of the ring, jewelry, colored silk, gift cakes, gift incense and candles, and even sheep and pigs, it is also known as sent to the fixed or fixed recruitment.

Nazheng: after the engagement, the male family will be sent to the female family bride price, is the stage of marriage rituals. This wedding is also commonly known as the completion of the recruitment or big recruitment, over the big gift. Later, this ceremony also took the practice of return gifts, will be part of the bride price of food or all the return; or employed, the female family will be given to the male side of the clothing, hats, shoes and socks as a return gift. The number of bride price and the name of the items more auspicious meaning, the number of double avoid single.

Please period: after sending the bride price, choose the date of marriage, prepare gifts to the woman's home, to obtain consent when the ceremony. "Please auspicious date will meet the bride, said into the ceremony also". That is, in the modern sense of choosing the date of the "rituals of the Shifengli" cloud "please period with the geese, the host resigned, Bing Xu told the period, such as Na levies." The male family through the divination of the gods, to determine the auspicious date of marriage, that is, to send people to the female family, to seek the views of the female family.

Personal welcome: the new son-in-law personally to the female family to meet the ceremony. This ritual is often regarded as the main program of the wedding, while the first five are treated as transitional rituals such as negotiation and betrothal.