The Origin and Development of Chinese Wedding and Western Wedding

Although wedding ceremonies have been held all over the world since ancient times, the history of brides wearing wedding dresses at weddings is less than 200 years. In the west, the dress that the bride wears with the hem sweeping the floor was originally a Catholic dress. Because some countries in ancient Europe were a country where politics and religion were integrated, people had to go to church to receive prayers and blessings from priests or priests before they could be considered as formal legal marriages. Therefore, the bride puts on a dress to show her sincerity and purity to God. However, before the19th century, there was no uniform color specification for the bride dresses that girls wore when they got married. It was not until 1840 that Queen Victoria of England made a big splash with an elegant white wedding dress. The brides of the royal family and the upper class followed suit, and white gradually became the first choice for wedding dresses. It symbolizes the beauty and holiness of the bride. Now, the white wedding dress has become the most important part of wedding culture. In any country, in addition to keeping their own national wedding dresses, more and more newcomers choose white wedding dresses. In addition, in the west, the bride will carefully preserve the wedding dress and pass it on to future generations, making the sacred wedding dress a beautiful treasure and a legacy of love.

Compared with Europe and America, China's wedding dress industry started late. At the beginning of the 20th century, the traditional wedding dresses in China were still robes, hooks and crowned dresses. Since ancient times, China's wedding dress has been dominated by red. Because red is traditionally regarded as an auspicious and festive color, ancient brides often wore red dresses and crested feathers. In the traditional customs of China, the wedding dress is the most important dress in a girl's life. Most of them were made by girls themselves when they were young, and they were not finished until they got married. So this wedding dress has pinned all the dreams of girlhood. Although girls nowadays can't sew their own wedding dresses, they must be cut and sewn by hand to show their preciousness and uniqueness.

The custom of bridal gowns can be traced back to the Victorian era. The wedding dress worn by the bride is related to "something old, something new, something borrowed and something white". Because the past is related to the bride's family and her past life. New things represent the bride's future happiness, good luck and success in her new life. Wearing borrowed things when getting married can bring good luck to marriage. This can be a wedding dress, a handkerchief and a piece of jewelry. White things are considered as a symbol of purity and loyalty.

There are two explanations about the custom of the bride wearing a wedding dress. First, in the era of arranged marriage, the groom should cover the bride's face before formally marrying her at the wedding, so that when the groom sees the bride clearly, even if he doesn't like her appearance, it is too late. Another explanation is that the bride wears a wedding dress to avoid being hurt by evil spirits wandering in the air on the wedding day.

The custom of the groom carrying the bride across the threshold originated in Roman times. At that time, people thought that it would bring bad luck if the bride stumbled when she entered the threshold of her new home on the first day, and such a thing could be avoided by holding the bride across the threshold.

It is generally believed that the custom of wearing a ring when getting married began in the 7th century. At the wedding ceremony at that time, the priest touched the index finger of his left hand in sequence and said, "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit", just touching the ring finger.

The bride's habit of carrying flowers originated in ancient times. People think that fragrant flowers or spices can drive away evil spirits, bad luck and diseases. In Victorian times, when lovers expressed their different feelings by sending flowers, flowers had more meanings. For example, apple blossoms represent "better things are coming"; Red roses stand for "I love you"; White roses represent "purity"; Don't forget me is "true love and memories".

As for the bride standing to the left of the groom, it is very interesting. In ancient times, it was common to rob the bride. While protecting the future bride with his left hand, the groom has to free his right hand and use his sword to defeat and drive away other people who want to take her as his wife.