Want to know the wedding etiquette in Zhangzhou, Fujian?

Minnan wedding customs (a)

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Pig's foot in front of the sedan chair

Minnan people's wedding customs are strange and amazing. Such as in the welcoming procession, the red bamboo blue holding a thick pig's foot is particularly eye-catching, the local people called: "sedan chair before the pig's foot". Whenever who married a daughter-in-law, in the preparation of gifts sent to the woman's home, it is necessary to prepare two legs of the same size as the pig's foot meat, (implying that the two pro-family happiness and prosperity). Weight should be about twenty pounds per foot, if the preparation is too small feet, will be seen by the woman as stingy. The joints of the pig's feet to be tied with red silk thread, the other end of the red paper wrapped into a red packet, inside the 12 yuan of money, on behalf of the next day twelve months every day to eat well. And then put into the two do work to examine the red basket (that is specifically for the marriage of the gift box, commonly known as red basket). In addition, the pick "red basket" of the stretcher also has to pay attention to, the stretcher two tip to be red paper glued on, for good luck. To come to the woman's home, "sedan chair before the pig's foot" to be placed in the hall of the woman's home, the bride's parents to count the pig's foot meat and gifts, and symbolically cut a piece of pork, weight in 2 pounds or so, cut large will say that the bride's family of greed, and the rest of the part of the joy of the pro-relationship team with the dowry to bring back to the man's home.

According to legend, "pig's feet before the sedan chair" as early as the Tang Dynasty in southern Fujian is very popular. Tang Dynasty, Minnan natives often rebel, the court often sent troops into the Fujian to quell the rebellion. At that time, the people of southern Fujian in the event of a daughter to get married, all the family crying, very miserable. The leader of the team sent a person to inquire, it turned out to be a sparsely populated area of southern Fujian, everywhere ancient trees, jackals and wolves, often girls on their way to get married by the tiger attack, some even lost their lives (another legend, is the sky dog bites the bride), so it is crying so miserable. Some people in the army found it strange and brought the matter back to the capital to report. The founding father of the Tang Dynasty, Cheng Biaojin, came up with a plan: the tiger hurt people is forced by hunger, and the tiger is meat-eating nature, can be used to hang pork in front of the sedan chair, in case of tigers, so the pork will be thrown to the tiger to fill up the eight belly, the bride and the gang can follow suit. Because it is easy to carry, the whole piece of meat hanging in front of the sedan chair, so it is called "sedan chair before the pig's foot".

Southern Fujian wedding customs (two)

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Gossip rice sieve

Rice sieve is the people's daily necessities, but it is also an important item in the Southern Fujian wedding customs, such as welcoming the bride to the doorsteps of the family, you need to have a painting of the gossip pattern of the rice sieve will be the bride's head cover, and then only to welcome the bride into the home of the man, meaning peace and good luck. Local called "gossip rice sieve".

Speaking of "gossip rice sieve", there is a history of it. Legend has it that before the Tang Dynasty, a desolate area of southern Fujian, the local bandits often rebellious and chaotic, coupled with high mountains, bandits often harass the people. At that time, there often happened to marry the sedan chair was robbed or the bride was wounded by arrows, the people are often worried about this. After the Tang army to Zhangzhou development, the people will report this matter to the garrison for protection, because of the bandits in and out of the often, the people want to no good strategy, this matter to the capital, the founding minister Cheng Bui Jin came up with a brilliant idea: can order the soldiers with a fighting shield hanging in front of the sedan chair, such as arrows, the bride will use the shield to block, can keep safe and sound. This move line really worked. The townspeople took the shield as the bride's umbrella and amulet to be widely used. With the Tang army and the local people's *** with the development of the Zhangzhou area has been gradually peaceful and prosperous, bandits are not so blatant, has not happened again the bride was wounded by arrows, because there is no danger, coupled with the shield is bulky and inconvenient to carry, the people switched to the shield with the similar farming rice sieve to replace the use of. In order to differentiate from the general rice sieve, on the top of the rice sieve painted on the gossip auspicious patterns, like a shield like the role of protection from evil. And call it "gossip rice sieve" widely circulated, which is "gossip rice sieve" origin.

Another legend, in ancient times, Minnan, often occurring sky dog to rob the beauty of the girl's affairs, the matter was reported to the court, the Tang Dynasty, the old minister Cheng Biaojin painted a gossip rice sieve placed in the bride's sedan chair to ward off the evil spirits, because of the legend of the sky dog is afraid of the gossip map, so it is safe and sound. In any case, "gossip rice sieve" from the Tang Dynasty Cheng Biaojin set up the story to today's southern Fujian area is widely circulated.

"gossip rice sieve" is the choice of a new rice sieve to do research, the back of the red lacquer painted on a gossip pattern, rice sieve bamboo nails to be exposed on the outside, implying that out of the Din Fazhi, when going to marry the bride, the rice sieve on the sedan chair or the front of the car, the bride to marry back to get out of the sedan chair, pick up the rice sieve over the bride's head, and read! "rice sieve take high, have children and grandchildren in the scholar" and other auspicious words. At the same time the bride's feet but also put a large dustpan with the farmers to let her stand, so that the bride "top not see the sky, not under the ground" of the emergency, so it is considered to show valuable. Then, but also the rice sieve to the new room, stored in the top of the bed, in order to peace and good luck.

With the passing of the years, today's townspeople in order to facilitate the carrying of the wedding changed to a gossip at the beginning of the flower umbrellas to replace the use of gossip rice sieve, a figure of good luck, the second can be shielded from the sun and rain. However, in the countryside wedding, prepare a "gossip rice sieve" to cover the bride and put on the bed for good luck customs, or essential to become a unique wedding customs in southern Fujian, in the countryside folk from generation to generation.

Southern Minnesota wedding customs (three)

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Red and sweet

Minnesotans, the red for the respect, for the big, for the joy, for the auspicious. In the early years to the present, the wedding ceremony, the big day, but also the whole family red color. Hall, room door, the door to post the newlywed couplets. Such as: "Purple swallows fly to welcome the spring dance, red flowers and sunrise opening", "auspicious people and auspicious time to spread auspicious words, the new man new year to tie the knot". The bride should wear a red shirt and skirt, a red turban, and red shoes embroidered with mandarin ducks. The bride after the entrance, should be specially to the mother-in-law or female elders inserted red silk spring flowers, expressed cordiality and respect, to the in-laws to tea with sweet tea with red dates; hall to hang stickers on the double happiness of the red silk wedding tent.

Sugar cane

In the wedding venue, placed two bundles of sugar cane with roots and leaves, head and tail, each bundle of sugar cane four or five plants, tied with red silk, reflecting the marriage of pairs, married couples after marriage, such as sugar cane festival sweet.

Minnan wedding customs (four)

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Oven teapot

Speaking of Minnan people, they can not be separated from their hands of kung fu tea, and Minnan traditional wedding naturally exudes a strong aroma of tea. In the wedding site is set up with tea supplies a huge oven and teapot, according to the Minnan wedding customs, the newcomer across the oven has the meaning of prosperity. The four big words on the oven, "He Jing Yi Zhen", are both the tea ceremony and the couple's way to happiness in the eyes of the southern Min people. Warned the newlyweds, the two grew up in different backgrounds, the gap is not small, but in married life, is to remember mutual respect and tolerance. After listening to these words of wisdom, each couple drank a cup of Kung Fu tea, which symbolizes "sweetness and happiness", and I believe they also have a deeper feeling.

Minnan wedding customs (five)

Tea ceremony

In China, tea and marriage has a close connection, as early as the Ming Dynasty, there is a "betrothal tea" records. Qing Dynasty people Fugue in <<Listening to the rain talk >> Volume VIII, said: "Today's wedding line hired to tea for the coin, Manchu and Han Chinese customs are all the same, and not the right room is not used." Visible tea and marriage has a very close relationship, can be said to be very serious "contract".

However, the tea-related wedding customs, the most interesting when pushing the southern Fujian and Taiwan, these areas of tea drinking is prevalent, men and women engaged to use the tea ceremony, this ancient legacy has been preserved to the present. Fujian and Taiwan marriage etiquette is known as the "three tea ceremony". "Three tea" that is, the engagement "under the tea", the marriage "fixed tea", with the room to meet the "joint tea

At the time of the wedding, it was the "next tea".

In feudal society, "parents' orders, matchmaker's words" can not be disobeyed, the male party with the matchmaker or parents to the woman's home to propose marriage, matchmaking, the woman's parents are accustomed to call to be married to a thousand gold to serve tea to the guests, tea cups filled, according to the order of the order of the male guests sent to the hands of the opening of the "matchmaking" prelude. Blind date" prelude. Male family members take the opportunity to examine the girl's appearance, speech, behavior, mannerisms, the girl will also secretly future husband measured some. When the male to the female family "to send" (betrothal), by the woman to be married to sweet tea (Fujian and Taiwan folk called "golden jujube tea") please male guests to taste. After drinking sweet tea, the male guest will use red paper wrapped in double-digit coins to return the gift, this gift is called "pressure tea bottle". To the day of marriage, the male wedding party to the female family, the female family to eat "egg tea" (sweet tea built-in a shell boiled sugar eggs).

After the male wedding banquet, the bride and groom in the company of the matchmaker or family members, holding on the candied fruit, sweet winter melon strips, such as "tea with" tea plate, guests, this ritual is called "eat the bride tea". Guests ate the "bride tea" to wrap the red envelope placed in the tea cup as a return gift. Sometimes the guests intentionally do not take "bridal tea", to show mutual concessions, the comedy of the bridal chamber in the "tea ceremony" in the opening curtain. In addition, the second day of marriage, the newlyweds together with the "golden date tea" (each small cup with two honey gold dates), the head of the kneeling worship elders, followed by the tea offering, which is the southern Fujian, Taiwan's famous folk "worship tea", but also the climax of the tea ceremony in the wedding. If the relatives far from home elders can not go to the wedding, the groom's family with red paper tea, along with the gold dates and send it.

So, why the folk of Fujian and Taiwan tea ceremony? Because in southern Fujian and Taiwan, the tea tree is a symbol of the conclusion of the same heart, until death. According to Lang Ying's & lt; & lt; seven repair class draft & gt; & gt; and Chen Yuewen's & lt; & lt; Tianzhongji & gt; & gt; the record: "Where the seed tea tree must be seed, with the transplant will not be resurrected, so the bride of the old times must be tea as a gift, taken from the significance of the end of the one and the same!" In this sense, Fujian and Taiwan's "tea ceremony" wedding customs, worthy of a valuable folk culture.

Folk customs of southern Fujian wedding customs

Mochi Xuehe

As the saying goes: ten miles of different customs. This sentence is not false at all, Mr. home and my home difference is about ten miles, but the customs are very different, I'm going to say today is the wedding customs, southern Fujian wedding customs, of course, I can only say something about it, because the details of the different, is the same village, or even the next door neighbors may be different.

Ancient wedding customs in southern Fujian is extremely complex, those who are not afraid of trouble in-laws are happy. A new daughter-in-law to enter the door to the first look, three days after the two sides of the family nothing happens, and are satisfied with the next step, if the three days during which one side of the family has broken something, or the child bumped into, or other unlucky things happen, then it is again satisfied with can only be dismissed. Then it is the combination of the eight characters of the birth, the general age difference between the two sides of three, six, nine is not, this point is a lot of places have this custom. Next is to choose the day to see, choose a good day, the male parents bring four-color candy cookies, ready to red packets or hand ornaments and so on, go to the woman's home, if you are satisfied with the woman's home to stay to eat a meal, the woman's home, if you are satisfied with the girl will be let out before the meal pouring a cup of tea to the guests to drink, if you are not satisfied with the girl will not come out so that the male family do not have to stay for dinner. After dinner, the man will leave a red envelope or hand jewelry said to the girl's gift, just a gift, the two sides will not be more or less. This marriage will be counted as half done.

In Minnan more important than marriage is engaged, whether you have a marriage license, as long as you are engaged to marry this marriage is considered to be a big part of the rural areas, we will recognize that you are a family man, the two sides of the relationship to and from what happened to notify a and married the daughter-in-law into the door is the same. Speaking of this engagement is also extremely troublesome. This engagement before the two sides to talk about how much the bride price, including: bride price, the girl's clothing costs, jewelry, candy, cookies, cigarettes, the woman's family treats the food and wine money, and so on, of course, now most of the money is converted to. To the day of the man's family early in the morning to call on two or three dozens of relatives, women picking the three life incense and candles to the ancestors, and then split up and then go to each temple in the countryside to each incense this busy about to be busy from early in the morning to the noon. Men are usually led by the groom-to-be and his parents to pick three fish, four-color candy and cookies and fruit with part of the bride price (the remaining part of the bride price to be married into the door to pay) to the woman's home. The woman's family is also called on ten or so relatives, first to the male guests of each family on the snacks to share a red packet, and then pick up the things sent by the male party to go to the countryside of the ten miles into the incense. The woman's family and other guests ate snacks let the girl out on the tea, which tea, do the prospective mother-in-law naturally want to give the prospective daughter-in-law's full set of hand jewelry to the daughter-in-law to wear (which hand jewelry must be in pairs) the future mother-in-law naturally to the prospective son-in-law's ring to him to wear, and then wait for the relatives to come back into the incense to have a lively meal, the marriage is set up.

The next day to choose the day to talk about marriage, in many places in southern Fujian, there is a girl's family are worried about, this dowry often let many people sell their pots and pans to marry their daughters. Generally speaking, how much the male side to send the bride price female side to double the dowry (for example: the male side to send 50,000 bride price, the female side of the family at least to dowry 100,000, of course, the rich family more, millions of dowry is also there, no money in the family a little less, but generally will not be less than a double the bride price) the most is not good will also will be that the bride price is returned unchanged, how much more to accompany a little bit, so in the south of Fujian special importance of men and women about The first thing you need to do is to get your hands on the right equipment and then you're ready to go.

This pre-wedding naturally to prepare a variety of necessities, I said the necessities are not furniture or something but some other things. Near the wedding day of the girl's family to prepare some customary things in advance: grain seed (meaning that the girl married back to the past five melon abundance), table head red (placed in the bride's room with flowers and so on, meaning auspicious), filial piety cloth (there is a red rope tied to a good enough to do a set of mourning clothes for the girl's future, meaning that the in-laws live a long life), seven buckets (including basins, buckets, and the future of the child's bathtub and so on * * * seven, meaning to be prepared for any problems and complete), lead (lead in the Min Cai and the Min Cai and the lead in the future), lead, lead, lead, lead, lead, lead, lead, lead, lead, lead, lead, lead and so on. (lead in Min Cai and "edge" is the same sound, meaning that the girl's family in the past with people to make good karma, the girl to wear on the day of the wedding from the inside to the outside of all the clothes to be sewn with a red line not lead sheet) two boxes (the box is loaded with clothes and dowry, the day of the wedding by the bridesmaids and so on to help carry the past and then placed in the hall to be opened in public to check the bottom of the box of the dowry nature) also want to bet money on this to whose daughter-in-law how much dowry everyone is clear, of course, now there is a dowry is the passbook, the house and what that said written in red paper into the frame to bring) of course, there are also some sporadic things, I'm here to say that some of the common customs, now there are many people may be deleted some of them.

To three days before the wedding or one day there is also a tandem plate custom (divided into three-day plate and one-day plate, this with the two sides of the meaning of the) this tandem plate is listed in the four-color sweets and cookies and fish and meat and so on, and now many people are directly folded into the money given to the female side, the female side of the buy their own, left over some of the manpower to the day of the male side is just meaning to pick some over, of course, this is how much Well, in some coastal areas is more than a shocking. The man just mean to pick some over on the day. A quan for a hundred pounds, as little as thirty-six quans, as much as seventy-two quans. To the stretcher plate that day, the woman should call on a dozen relatives in groups of two to the village households to share the candy and cookies. In those places on the coast, these are divided into soup pots with a family of pots, so the use of these dozens of quarts of candy cookies, some people in the village is not enough, but also by the woman's family to pay out of their own pockets to buy. In my place is generally not so much, that is, each household each four candy four cookies. The two sides still have to call on many relatives to help them go to the temples in all the villages to enter the incense, so this trouble and exhaustion not to mention.

Finally, the happy day came, the invitation, which is there are needless to say. That day the groom to marry the bride dressed up beautiful, and the bride is accompanied by younger or older brothers and uncles and aunts, etc., some places along the coast of the newlyweds are to wear yellow hats, hats only along the edge of the sewed black veil, covering the face. (I forgot to say, many places before the bride to be married to an old man to strangle the face, called the open face) to the male family, before entering the door of the groom's closest relatives to avoid, the bride directly into the new room until after the tea to come out to see people. This please tea is also a delicate, tea is the bride to bring, which put the lead powder, as already said is to tie the knot, but also put the winter melon sugar red dates and so on, that is called sweet. First to the in-laws on the tea, according to the column has asked to specialize in doing this old man to, read some nice auspicious words, on the tea in many places the newcomer is to kneel to their parents, thanks to the parents of the grace of upbringing, on the end of the tea the bride to give the in-laws to the meeting gift is generally gold jewelry, of course, there are also sent clothes, and the in-laws also want to give the new daughter-in-law sealed a red envelope as a wedding gift. Then is the new daughter-in-law to the groom uncle aunt, sister brother on the tea, each on the end of a tea have to exchange gifts, which is generally a gift for the hand clothes, rich people and big family, the bride to prepare the gift often cost tens of thousands of dollars, the poor family only spend three or five hundred dollars there. This tea is also invited to the end of the wedding banquet to eat here is the end? The first time I've seen this, I've seen a lot of people who have been in the same boat for a long time.

The day after the wedding, before dawn, the bride's brother came to take the bride home, which early morning three or four o'clock in the morning to come, late five or six o'clock also came. And the groom goes to the bride's house about lunchtime. On this day, the bride's family invited the bridegroom and the bride's relatives, which is called back to the door guests, as usual, until after dinner, it is dark before the bridegroom took the bride home, and the bride's family to prepare two with the end of the head and tail of the sugar cane and two with the road to the new couple to take home the chicken (a male and a female). Almost there will be someone first notify the groom's family, they also have to first avoid the bride, and so the bride into the door before you can come out to meet (this is called avoiding relatives, Minnan meet called "blocking" and quarrels are also called "blocking" this avoidance is also to avoid future quarrels) the bride! The bride back to the door it, within a month of the wedding to go back to the door three times, of course, the remaining two are not as complicated as the first time, just have to wait until dark to go back to the groom's home, and the groom's family should be avoided every time. The marriage was then successfully completed