Hakka marriage customs?

Matchmaking In the past, Hakka young men and women, after the age of sixteen years old, can be entrusted to the matchmaker matchmaking, the introduction of marriage. Generally, the parents of the man's family to entrust the matchmaker to go to the woman's home to say, but also the woman's family to invite the matchmaker to visit the man's home first.

Looking at girls and boys through the centralized media, such as the two sides are interested in, will agree on a time to "look at girls".

Writing the post Both sides agreed, we must tell each other men and women's birthdays and birthmarks. Go back, each asked the fortune-teller to "eight characters". If the eight characters are compatible, will not collide with each other, write out the Geng sticker (commonly known as wedding list), each placed on top of the incense, such as three days without ominous signs, the marriage will be settled (such as the eight characters do not fit, the male party to the female Geng sticker sent back to the female family).

Make up a red list, also known as "open red wedding invitation", or called speaking of wealth. By the male parents, clansmen and matchmakers together to the female family, the male side to the female family's financial gifts issued out. Some of the red list also write back to the son-in-law gifts, such as hats, silver flowers, clothes, shoes, socks and so on. Open red list process, the two sides will bargain, and finally negotiated finalized. After the opening of the red list, men and women have to exchange tokens such as rings, handkerchiefs and so on. Finally, the man came to the woman's home to eat after lunch to go back.

The betrothal is also called "Dazha", that is, once again formalize the marriage. Young men and their parents to go to the woman's home, send pig head, fish, meat, etc., the woman's parents, brother and sister-in-law, uncles, grandparents and so on should be present. After lunch, the girls have to come out to meet and call the parents of the male family as mom and dad, and the parents of the two families call each other in-laws and in-laws.

Looking at the family side of the female side to the male side to see the family, time, some in the "Daza" before, some in the "Daza" after the female side to go in addition to the girls and their parents, aunts, sisters, etc. to go, large and small dozen people, do not bring a gift is to bring a little, the male family also dare not take it. The first thing you need to do is to bring a little bit of the male family dare not pick up.

Send the day after the wedding is set, the man should ask the fortune-teller to choose the day of the door, including the bride out of the day, the hour, to the male home to return to the door of the hour, in addition to the female cut red clothes, the man made the bed of the day should also be selected at the same time.

Sending food and lifting the dowry One or two days before the bride's passing, the male family should ask the clan to send the bride price and fish, meat, poultry, noodles and other things specified in the red list to the female family by more than ten people, and then bring the trousseau, furniture and other things back to the male family when they return.

Welcoming the bride is also called receiving the bride or passing through the door. The day before the wedding, the male family to go to more than ten people to the female family to meet the bride, there are drummers band, firecrackers, sedan chair, there are burning incense (to the female ancestral hall, temples, the community to burn incense), a picket, one head to pick with the chicken (a male and a female), the other end of the wine and pine pine Ming, a woman to take the bride to wear the clothes, and carry wooden suitcase two people to carry to the fish, meat, wine, cakes, cigarettes, firecrackers, candles, etc., matchmakers also have to go to the matchmaker to bring back to the trousseau. etc., the matchmaker should also go, the groom, some go, some do not go, such as the groom to go with the groom, the groom should also do sedan chair, firecrackers is the male plenipotentiary, accompanied by red envelopes, one or two dozen.

Receiving the bride to the woman's home, the first to eat snacks, and then by the woman's family two people led to the ancestral shrine to burn incense to honor the ancestors. At noon or in the evening, the woman's family hosts a banquet.

The bride is usually moved in the middle of the night at dawn or dawn, the more you go, the brighter the sky, a symbol of light, and then go out at night, will not come across lifting the coffin and other unlucky things. Meet the bride team in front of the lantern, followed by drummers, sedan chair in the middle, behind the bride people.

The bride arrives at the man's home, such as not yet the required entry hour, we must wait at the gate on the ping or outside the door next to the house. Entry is generally seven or eight o'clock in the morning or eight or nine o'clock, and some even wait until noon. To the hour of entry, the bride to kick the sedan chair door, by the male bridesmaids will be the bride out of the sedan chair, and then in front of the gate, "over the fire", the bride from the cedar branches burned on the fire across, before entering the door.

Bidding the bride in the sound of drums and music into the hall, then began to pay homage. The hall is decorated with incense sticks, with parents and elders standing on the east side, relatives on the west side, house relatives on the north side, and juniors on the south side. Before paying homage to the bridegroom, the outer family will hang a red, five-foot-long red cloth draped over the bridegroom.

Oral recitation: "hand holding streamer red five feet long, a heart to play the groom, play the groom to give birth to a noble son, early birth to a noble son in a scholar." Worship, the groom stood left, the bride stood right, by the ceremony called: a worship of heaven and earth, two worship ancestors, three worship high hall, four couples worship.

Finally, relatives meet and give the bride a red envelope. After worship, the bridesmaids with red roses will lead the bride into the new room, the bride and groom in the sound of firecrackers from the door of the room to the hall to sprinkle sugar. Then the bride and groom eat the cup of wine. The bridesmaids hold a chicken on a tray, and while serving the wine, they say: "Reunion, wall and pearl", "Guanyin sends a son, give birth to a son"; "Husband and wife and good, old age". (This etiquette in the Meizhou region has been uncommon, replaced by modern wedding mode)

Noon hosted a banquet, eat wedding banquet, with loud artillery to invite guests, every half an hour to put once, the banquet began to seat when the release of three. Then by the ceremony student registration list, a table of two on the table, according to seniority and affinity, the first arranged to sit on the table, and then other people casually into the seat. Male and female guests are seated separately, the bride and groom should go to the table to toast.

Haunting the room Haunting the room a kind of haunting in the hall, a kind of haunting in the new room, there are also first in the hall, after the new room haunting. During the haunted house, firecrackers every few minutes once, until the midnight party stops.

Back to the door, also known as "turn the door". Generally the third or fifth day after the wedding, the female party sent the bride's sisters and other female relatives to invite the bride and groom to go together as guests, the matchmaker and the groom's sisters also went, ****7-14 people, eat the luncheon, back on the same day.

Send the full moon One month after the wedding, the bride's family to send the full moon, and at the same time to send chickens, vegetables, seeds, cereal seeds, beans, etc., to show that the grains are plentiful, prosperous.