Wedding Chronicle has collected a lot of information. The wedding customs in Fujian include the following:
Engagement ceremony:
The first step of "ceremony" is by The matchmaker sends the man's birth date to the woman, and the woman's birth date to the man. Some superstitious parents, who think they are responsible for their children's marriages, often ask fortune tellers to calculate after receiving the red invitation to see the " Whether the "birthday and horoscope" match? If not, the marriage must be reconsidered. Fortunately, most modern people no longer believe in this, so even if they exchange red posts, it is often just a formality, and some even do not even need to exchange red posts. After "exchanging posts" and "combining horoscopes", the matchmaker will choose a good day to take the man to "ceremony" to get engaged. "Giving gifts" is a big deal. Generally, the person who takes the initiative in getting married (regardless of the man or woman) has to send a heavy gift to the other party. This is usually negotiated separately between the matchmaker and both parties in advance, and it cannot be left to the man (or woman) to calculate the amount given. Of course, the man's or woman's parents should also try to be considerate of each other, strive to be more frugal, and accept less betrothal gifts. After the "ceremony", both men and women can agree on a date, go to the local government to apply for a marriage certificate, and formally confirm the marriage relationship.
The man gives a betrothal gift:
The man’s parents and matchmaker take the groom to the woman’s house to get engaged. (You can now make an appointment to get engaged in the hotel, and everyone will have a casual meal later)
The man will give: bride price: 33,000, 50,03 or 100,03 (the agreed-upon digit of the bride price must be three characters. Fuzhou The word "three" in dialect is homophonic with "生", which means having more children after marriage). Ten festive colors (5 pounds of wedding candy, 2 packages, 2 large pig legs, 2 big fish, 2 dried fish, 5 pounds of noodles, 2 packages (the noodles should be wrapped in big red paper), some red eggs, some apples or oranges , 2 bottles of red wine, 10 large crabs with healthy legs that turn red after cooking {meaning perfect}, a pair of live chickens {the feet of the two chickens must be tied together with a three-foot-three red rope Yes, you have to tie a slip knot. When the man goes back, he has to take the hen back. At this time, the two feet of the hen are tied with the red rope.) How much gold (note: it does not have to be given at the time of the engagement. When will the gold be given? Both parties can negotiate)
The above items must be wrapped in red paper, or small square red papers should be placed on the items being delivered.
The woman’s return gift:
You can prepare a hen so that you can exchange it with the hen the man gave you during the engagement, so that the man can bring back a pair of chickens (including the chickens originally given by the other party) The rooster is also returned) back. Some women do not prepare hens at home in advance, but just keep the hens sent by the men and ask the men to bring back only the roosters. Must return: one set of groom's underwear, one set of groom's suit, one set of groom's shirt. The groom should have a pair of men's socks (cannot be white socks) and a gold ring. The "golden socks" among them imply that the groom will develop into: "living treasury" in the future. As for how much gift money the woman should give back to the man, she can give it back on the spot during the engagement ceremony, or she can give it as a dowry to the bride when she gets married.
(Note: As mentioned above, the woman can return half of the ten colors to the man when she gets engaged. However, these "ten colors of joy" are also It's negotiable. Nowadays, many people don't give away ten colors, but just give some casually. )
The woman's dowry purchase:
1. Purchase some electrical appliances needed for the new home: According to each. Depending on the person's situation, we will handle it as needed. If the woman has the conditions, it is now popular to buy a "car". 2. Red leather suitcase: (usually 2 in number, meaning good things come in pairs). The suitcase contains some commonly used clothes and dowry items given to the daughter by the woman’s parents.
3. Red umbrella: When picking up the bride, the bridesmaid holds a red umbrella for the bride when she goes out, gets in the car, and gets off the car, in the open air. This umbrella needs to be brand new and without a trademark, and the color can be red or pink. This is also an old way of seeking good luck, such as warding off disasters and warding off evil spirits.
4. One red plastic bucket: It needs to be wrapped with a 3-foot-3 red cloth (provided by the man). (It means the bride’s toilet. Red dates, peanuts, lotus seeds, longans, and melon seeds should be placed in the bucket. It means giving birth to a son early).
5. Xiwa: A pair of baby dolls, one boy and one girl, which is said to be auspicious and means more children and more blessings. (It is best if it is a gift from a friend of the bride, and it must not be bought by the bride herself).
6. 1 children's bathtub, 1 red cosmetic case, a mirror, 2 red towels, a pair of red tooth cups, 2 toothbrushes, 2 corner combs, and 2 red washbasins.
7. Plastic flowers and vases (provided by the man); nine plastic flowers of two colors, white lilies and red roses, represent boys and girls, and also imply a hundred years of love, wealth and prosperity.
New house decoration:
Paste a pair of couplets on both sides of the door frame, add a horizontal scroll (the horizontal scroll usually writes the four characters "Luan Feng He Ming"); paste the big red double happiness characters on the door;
Hung lanterns in the middle of the new house;
Paste paper-cut red Double Happiness characters on the windows, paper-cut butterfly patterns on the four corners; couplets on both sides of the windows;
Hang calligraphy and paintings around the walls;< /p>
Kitchen: A pair of couplets at the front door, with horizontal inscriptions, and a red word "HI" on the door; Others: A word "HI" is affixed on the door of all rooms.
Pick-up:
On the first day of the wedding, the groom’s family will prepare two or more decorated wedding cars to come to the woman’s house to pick up the bride and dowry, which is also called pick-up. When the groom's wedding car arrives at the bride's house, the bride's house will set off firecrackers. After the firecrackers are set off, the groom can enter the bride's house. The groom also brings the bride's bouquet of flowers and fine cigarettes to the bride's home.
When you see the bride, give her a bouquet to hold. At the same time, generously distribute cigarettes to the woman’s family members to smoke. When the newlyweds are at the bride's house, after visiting their ancestors, they have to eat Taiping (note: the soup for Taiping must be chicken. And the bride should eat slowly, preferably not faster than the groom). After the couple has eaten Taiping, they bring their dowry and prepare to get married. Before the couple leaves the house, firecrackers are set off at the bride's house. After the firecrackers are set off, the couple can leave the bride's house. After the bride steps out of the bride's house, she must not look back. She must move forward happily. Even if she forgets something, she must not look back and must ask others to get it. From the moment the couple steps out of the house until they get in the car, the bridesmaid should hold an umbrella for the bride when she is escorted out of the house, and the bridesmaid is responsible for opening the car door. When the wedding car starts to drive away, the woman's family will set off firecrackers again. When a daughter from Fuzhou gets married, she must arrive at the groom's house at 12 a.m. The bride usually leaves to pick up the bride before 9 to 10 a.m.
Eating Taiping:
When the groom arrives at the bride’s house, the newlyweds must eat a bowl of Taiping. When the bride arrives at the groom’s home, she must also eat another bowl of Taiping. It means keeping safe. According to Fuzhou tradition, the newlyweds eat Taiping chicken noodles before meeting their families. The groom eats chicken heads, which indicates the head of the family, and the bride eats chicken wings and chicken feet. In Fuzhou dialect, this means running a household well. Many children, many blessings. There are two Taiping eggs in Taiping. Usually, you have to eat one and save the other, which means that everyone is safe together.
Making the bed:
Fuzhou people ask the elders of the groom's family to make the bed for the new house. The elders must choose the parents. Having a complete set of children means that the couple can be as happy as the elders. Then find 1 or 2 well-behaved, smart, and beautiful little boys to roll around in the new bed, hoping that a beautiful baby boy will be born in the future. If you like to have a girl baby, just find a boy and a girl, or just have a girl. Also remember to give each child a red envelope.
Meeting the Elders:
From 3 to 4 pm, the newlyweds will begin to meet their ancestors, elders, elders and relatives to ask for red envelopes. Fuzhou people call it "Jian Ting".
A banquet at the hotel:
At almost 5 o'clock, the newlyweds will arrive at the hotel to welcome the guests. The last thing is the common hotel etiquette. The relatives and friends of the couple gather together to drink wedding wine and eat a wedding banquet. You can ask a wedding company to arrange the ceremony in the hotel when you get married. I saw relatives of my own generation at the wine table, and I could still get red envelopes at that time.
Return to the house:
According to the Fuzhou wedding custom of "please go back to the house", usually you only come for one day and return to the groom's house that night, it is called "please catch the candle", and it must be done on the night of the candle Hei Qian returns to her husband's house. When you get married, the groom’s family holds a banquet on the first day. The next day, the woman’s family held a banquet, also called a homecoming banquet. The second day after the wedding is the day to return home. When "please come home", the mother's family will send her brother-in-law to pick up the bride. The groom must give money to the brother-in-law, and at the same time, he must make fun and funny jokes to the groom. As a new son-in-law, he must Treat others with courtesy, respond tactfully, and avoid falling into the "trap" of being both punished and made fun of. Then the groom prepares gifts and goes with the bride to the home of her parents-in-law to meet them, and needs to return on the same day. At this point, the entire wedding ceremony is over. Marriage taboos:
(1) Do not get married in the ghost month, which is the seventh month of the lunar calendar.
(2) It is forbidden to get married in the sixth month of the lunar calendar, as it means a half-month wife.
(3) When setting up the bed, the bed should be placed in a straight position and should not be opposite to the sharp corners of the table, wardrobe or any object.
(4) From the time the bed is set up to the eve of the wedding night, the groom-to-be is not allowed to sleep alone in the new bed. Instead, he can find an underage boy with a big zodiac sign, such as a dragon, to sleep with him. (5) On the day of the engagement, no matter how hot the weather is, all those participating in the engagement are not allowed to fan their fans, otherwise it will mean breaking up the engagement.
(6) After the engagement ceremony and the wedding banquet, neither party can say goodbye, otherwise they will have the intention of remarrying.
(7) The dress worn by the bride on her wedding day should not have pockets, so as not to take away the family’s wealth.
(8) When the bride leaves her parents’ home, she will cry as loudly as possible. The more she cries, the more she cries, which means she will not cry until she cries.
(9) On the wedding day, when the bride goes out, her aunt and sister-in-law must avoid each other and cannot see each other off. Because "aunt" and "gu" have the same pronunciation, and "sister-in-law" and "sweep" have the same pronunciation, which are both unlucky. (10) On the way to the wedding, if you encounter another wedding convoy, it is called "Xi Cong Xi", which will offset each other's blessings, so you must set off firecrackers for each other, or have the matchmakers of both parties exchange flowers to resolve it.
(11) On the wedding day, no one is allowed to touch the new bed until going to bed at night. The bride is not allowed to touch the bedside on the day.
(12) On the wedding day, the bride should not lie down, otherwise she will be sick in bed all year round.
(13) Because children cry easily, they should not be allowed into the wedding hall, because crying in the auditorium is unlucky.
(14) When the bride enters the groom's house, she should avoid stepping on the threshold and should step over it. (15) People or widows whose zodiac sign is "Tiger" are not allowed to attend ceremonies or enter the new house. (16) The bride should be careful not to step on the groom's shoes, as this will cause shame to her husband.
(17) On the day of Guining, the newlyweds must leave their natal home before sunset and must not stay at their natal home overnight. If they cannot go home for special reasons, the couple must sleep separately to avoid bumping into their natal home and causing misfortune to their natal family.
(18) Within four months of marriage, avoid participating in any weddings or funerals. (19) Within four months of marriage, it is forbidden to stay out overnight.