{"id":1288,"date":"2018-06-02T05:15:47","date_gmt":"2018-06-01T21:15:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/2018\/06\/02\/fascinating-chinese-wedding-traditions\/"},"modified":"2024-12-24T21:25:43","modified_gmt":"2024-12-24T13:25:43","slug":"fascinating-chinese-wedding-traditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/fascinating-chinese-wedding-traditions\/","title":{"rendered":"Fascinating Chinese Wedding Traditions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chinese wedding traditions are still very important in modern<\/a> weddings. During ancient times, many practices and rituals were performed. Today, with the advent of contemporary styles of weddings, traditions have been narrowed down to a few key ones that have been incorporated with modern-style wedding day activities. Nonetheless, these traditions are highly esteemed<\/a> and regarded as vital parts of a wedding.<\/p>\n

Here are seven important Chinese wedding traditions every bride must know. You may or may not choose to perform all of these, but it\u2019s good to know them all, their importance, and the significance these bring to your marriage.<\/p>\n

(1) Picking the Wedding Date<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"WeddingTraditions1.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Photo:\u00a0Patrick Photography<\/p>\n

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When picking a wedding date, couples must always consult with a Chinese monk, fortune teller, or a Chinese calendar to ensure that the wedding falls on an auspicious date. Know what dates to avoid and what seasons to stay away from. Be ready with the details\u00a0your birthday as this is usually used as basis for choosing the auspicious wedding day. Having the right wedding date is believed to aide in the success of the\u00a0marriage.<\/p>\n

(2) Giving and Acceptance of Betrothal Gifts<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"WeddingTraditions2.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Photo:\u00a0Frank Fung<\/p>\n

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About two to three months before the actual wedding, the groom will go to the bride\u2019s home to present the betrothal gifts. This ceremony serves as the groom\u2019s formal proposal to the bride\u2019s parents.\u00a0The gifts that the groom presents to the bride and her parents symbolize prosperity and good fortune. Alongside the gifts, the groom also gives the bride price, a payment by the groom and his family to the bride\u2019s parents that is handed in a red envelope.<\/p>\n

Upon receiving the gifts, the bride\u2019s parents\u00a0formally accept the proposal and agree to leave their daughter in the groom\u2019s care.\u00a0During this ceremony, the bride\u2019s parents also bestow\u00a0a dowry\u00a0to the bride which means that she is given property from her parents to start her new life as a married woman. Finally, the bride\u2019s family give \u201creturn gifts\u201d, a gesture that says\u00a0they wish to maintain a good relationship with the groom\u2019s family.<\/p>\n

(3) Installing Newly Wed\u2019s Bed<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"WeddingTraditions3.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Photo:\u00a0Alicia Shereen<\/p>\n

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At yet again an auspicious date and time (usually 2-3 days before the actual wedding), the bridal bed will be installed in the bridal room by a man of good fortune\u2013one with a living husband, children, and grandchildren. During this ceremony, a woman of good fortune will cover the bed with new, red linen and a plate with\u00a0dried longans, lotus seeds, red dates, persimmons, and a sprig of pomegranate leaves together with 2 red packets of money is placed on top of the bed. In some cases, a young, health<\/a>y boy jumps on the bed as this is believed to help the couple in conceiving children. This ritual is symbolic of a long-lasting union that is gifted with many offspring. Once the bridal bed has been installed, no one\u00a0is allowed to sit or sleep in it until after the wedding.<\/p>\n

(4)\u00a0Hair Combing Ceremony<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"WeddingTraditions4.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Photo:\u00a0Heather Jowett<\/p>\n

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The hair combing ceremony\u00a0is a tradition that symbolizes the coming of age and entrance into adulthood of both the bride and groom. This ceremony is usually performed the night before the wedding and takes place in the bride\u2019s and groom\u2019s respective homes. Prior to the actual act of combing the hair, both the bride and groom must first bathe in water with pomelo or pomegranate leaves to ward off evil spirits. After bathing, they\u00a0change into new clothing and put on new bedroom slippers. The bride must then sit in a room facing the window where the moon is seen or in front of the mirror, while the groom must sit facing the inside of the house. A woman of good fortune must be the one to perform the combing ceremony. If the mothers of the bride and groom meet the criteria, they can perform the ceremony. If not, sometimes a relative may do so. The hair is\u00a0combed four times, while these four lines are recited simultaneously:<\/p>\n

May your marriage last a lifetime<\/p>\n

May you be blessed with a happy and harmonious marriage until old age<\/p>\n

May you be blessed with an abundance of children and grandchildren<\/p>\n

May you be blessed with longevity<\/p>\n

After this, the bride and groom must eat glutinous rice balls that symbolize they will have a happy, complete,\u00a0and lasting\u00a0marriage.<\/p>\n

(5) The Bride Leaves Her Own Home to Go to the Groom\u2019s Home<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"WeddingTraditions5.jpg\"<\/p>\n

\"WeddingTraditions6.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Photos:\u00a0Martin Aesthetics<\/p>\n

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Before the groom can take away his new wife-to-be, he has to win approval from the bride\u2019s friends and family. Hence,\u00a0door games\u00a0are performed in modern weddings. Door games originated from the ancient practices that imply a bride is a prized daughter, and her family does not want to marry her off easily. Therefore, a man worthy of her hand should have to pass certain \u201ctests\u201d (in today\u2019s wedding, these are represented by the games) before he can take his wife.<\/p>\n

\"WeddingTraditions7.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Photos:\u00a0Patrick Photography<\/p>\n

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When the groom surpasses all the tests and finishes all the door games, the bride finally comes out of the room and proceeds to the car while a bridesmaid holds a red umbrella over he head to protect the bride from evil spirits. Then rice is thrown over the umbrella and the bridal car to attract good luck.<\/p>\n

(6) The Chinese Tea Ceremony<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"WeddingTraditions10.jpg\"\"WeddingTraditions11.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Photo:\u00a0Moments and You<\/p>\n

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The\u00a0Chinese tea ceremony\u00a0is the most important wedding tradition\u00a0because it\u2019s the time that the bride and groom pay respect to their parents and express their gratitude for the many years under their wing.\u00a0First, the couple will serve tea to the bride\u2019s parents, followed by the\u00a0bride\u2019s other family and relatives. After this, they proceed to do the same with the groom\u2019s parents and relatives.<\/p>\n

(7) The Bride Goes Home with the Husband on the 3rd Day<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"WeddingTraditions12.jpg\"\"WeddingTraditions13.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Photo:\u00a0MC Photography HK<\/p>\n

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Three days after the wedding, the bride goes home to visit her parents to tell them that she is in good hands in her new home, and that she is well taken care of by her new family. Because this is the bride\u2019s first visit after the wedding, it is a special event for her parents and family. The couple is usually welcomed with a mini banquet where a baby pig is prepared to symbolize the bride\u2019s purity. The bride and groom also bring gifts for their parents and family members.<\/p>\n

Nowadays, some couples prefer to hold his on the same day of the wedding ceremony. After the tea ceremony, they go back to the bride\u2019s home to have lunch there.<\/p>\n

We hope this feature gave some insight to and appreciation for these wedding customs. It\u2019s best to go over them with your husband-to-be and family so you can incorporate these into your preparations, if ever.<\/p>\n

Source: Bride and Breakfast Hong Kong<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chinese wedding traditions are still very important in modern weddings. During ancient times, many practices and rituals were performed. Today, with the advent of contemporary styles of weddings, traditions have …","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25327,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[60,353,3519,1874,306,29,34],"class_list":["post-1288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pro-tips","tag-china","tag-e-china-cities","tag-fascinating-chinese-wedding-traditions","tag-health","tag-hiredchina","tag-jobs","tag-jobs-in-china"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1288"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25330,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288\/revisions\/25330"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}