Beijing people’s wedding customs are divided between Manchu and Han Dynasties. The Han people's etiquette for celebrating weddings can be divided into old and new ones. The new style uses floats and bands to bow; the old style uses sedan chairs and drums to play the deacons and kneels down. This is rough. Today, I have recorded hundreds of millions of old-style Han weddings as follows:
1. Setting:
Fangding is a ceremony of engagement, also called the setting ceremony. At that time, there were not many marriages between men and women through free love. Generally, it was still through "the orders of parents and the words of matchmakers." However, people's wisdom has opened up, and both parties to the marriage have a say. Therefore, with the help of a matchmaker (a matchmaker can be divided into a big matchmaker and a small matchmaker. A big matchmaker is a relative or friend of both parties, and a small matchmaker is a matchmaker), parents will tell their children about the situation, along with photos of the other party. If both parties are interested, they can propose to meet in person. The matchmaker chooses a suitable place for the two parties to meet each other, and it is just a sneak peek. After looking at the face, if you don’t find that you have any major disabilities, you must calm down.
At the time of release, you need to choose a special day to go through the matchmaker, transfer the token that the man gave to the woman to the woman, and replace the Geng Tie of both parties. The tokens are usually rings, bracelets or small gold and jade Ruyi, etc., which are considered valuable by the man. The Geng Tie is a folded post with the birthdays of both men and women written on it. Generally, dragon and phoenix stickers printed by paper shops are used. There are two folds of Long Feng Tie in different colors, one red and one green. The red one belongs to the man, and the green one belongs to the woman. There are yellow dragon and phoenix patterns printed on it. The birth dates of "Qian Zao" (man) and "Kun Zao" (female) are written side by side in the middle of the post. Geng Tie rules are prepared by the man; he asks someone to write them. People who write Geng Tie are required to be "full-blessed people" and not "four-eyed people". The so-called "Full Blessed Person" is a person whose spouse is still alive, and it is better if he has children. However, if his wife is pregnant, he becomes a "four-eyed person" and is not qualified.
While the man's Geng Tie and tokens are delivered to the woman, the matchmaker takes the woman's Geng Tie back and completes the placement procedures. The wedding ceremony can also be carried out by both the man and the woman by mutual agreement, choosing a restaurant to entertain the matchmaker, and both parties can do it in person, select an auspicious date for the wedding, and then go through the ceremony formalities.
2. Gift:
The gift is when the man officially notifies the woman of the agreed wedding date and gives the bride the clothes and jewelry she wore on the wedding day. There are also gifts for the woman. Gifts include goose wine (double goose and double wine or single goose and single wine); fresh fish, pork legs, lamb legs, pastries, etc. (The pastries are usually Longfeng cake, Zhuangyuan cake, and crystal cake) Goose, wine, and fish each take one shot. Clothes and jewelry can also be lifted with high picks (a rectangular table is used for high lifting, with small railings around the table, and two sticks worn under the table, which are carried by two people). For other foods, food boxes are used (a large rectangular double-layered wooden box placed on a wooden frame with a stick in the middle and two people carrying it). The above-mentioned items were escorted by two big matchmakers (one male matchmaker and one female matchmaker, both officials and guests). Afterwards, the woman should give a pig leg and a lamb leg to the two matchmakers as a token of gratitude.
3. Dowry
Dowry is a day or two before the wedding day, when the woman sends the items accompanying the bride to the man. At that time, the items prepared by the woman usually included clocks, bamboo mats, hats and mirrors, tea cans, food rings, tea sets, toiletries, toilet utensils, etc., as well as boxes, clothes, beddings, jewelry, and some families also secretly provided wooden furniture. In addition, there is a lamp of longevity, which is a lampstand made of copper or tin that lights the lamp grass. Transportation tools include high picks and "wobo" (that is, hired workers who carry them on their shoulders). Those using high lifts can be divided into thirty-two lifts, twenty-four lifts, and sixteen lifts. This depends on the woman’s financial conditions. If the load is less than 16, you will need a porter to carry it. In addition to the two big matchmakers, the woman needs to be accompanied by two or four male guests. After the dowry is delivered to the groom's family, the groom will properly place the items in the new house and ask the official who brought the dowry to see it. Some families also hire trumpeters to play outside their new houses, which is called "ringing the house."
4. Wedding:
The etiquette performed according to the customs of the time on the wedding day is the wedding. "A long drought is followed by sweet rain, meeting an old friend in a foreign land, the night of flowers and candles in the wedding room, and the time when the gold medal is named." In our country, marriage and weddings have always been regarded as one of the joys of life. For this reason, the man who presides over the marriage must send a message to invite relatives and friends, indicating which man or grandson he is "married to".
The bride is given a large sedan with red satin embroidery and eight people to carry it. In front of the sedan, there are pairs of umbrellas and pairs of mirrors, twenty-four or thirty-two drummers (including eight-sided drums), plus unvoiced music. In front are various flags, silent avoidance cards, pairs of fans, several pairs of golden lanterns, gourds, axes, and heavenly stools, etc. The front is a pair of gongs to clear the way. If the groom welcomes the bride in person, eight people with green sections and embroidery will be added to carry a large sedan, with the groom sitting in it and walking in front of the red sedan. As for the entourage, there are matchmakers, best men, bridegrooms, and bridegrooms, etc., who then take the car and go to the woman's side to marry the bride.
After the bride’s bride’s side is reached in the wedding procession, the groom will pay homage to the bride’s side to preside over the marriage and invite the bride to get on the sedan chair. The groom will sing congratulatory poems and praise the bride at the same time. If you invite the bride to get on the sedan, say "please invite the new noble to get on the sedan, please..." After three invitations, the old man helps the bride get up. The bride sits cross-legged and lowers the sedan curtain. The groom still leads the procession in a green sedan chair. The groom usually wears the official dress prescribed by the nation - a blue robe, a green mandarin jacket, a small hat, and blue satin pink-soled official boots. When welcoming the bride, she wears only red. When she arrives, the bride invites her elder relatives to wear another red for the groom, making it a double red. Gold flowers are placed on the hat, and the groomsmen accompany him when he comes.
After welcoming the bride back to the groom’s side, the groom will be taken care of by the best man to get off the sedan and go inside to rest.
The bride's sedan is carried straight to the front of the auditorium, where she gets off and the sedan poles are removed. At this time, the center of the auditorium was illuminated by flowers and candles, and the memorial tablets of heaven and earth were placed above, and the invited "old birthday star" (the man's elder) had given incense. Between the offering table and the sedan chair, there are two chairs on the left and right. Two companion sisters-in-law sit on the table, and two companion sisters-in-law sit next to each other. At this time, Lao Man brought over a tea tray containing five cups of sugar and tea. The sister-in-law and the aunt each have one cup, and the old man is holding the remaining cup. He opens the sedan curtain and passes through the sedan to give it to the bride. Then he will take back the teacups one by one. The sister-in-law and aunt only took the tea in their hands but did not drink it. After serving the tea, the person greeting the bride said: "Please invite the bridegroom into the hall. Please..." After three invitations, the best man accompanied the groom into the hall. The person paying tribute followed up with the compliment: "Bow upwards", "Bow to the sedan chair". The groom bows and exits. At this time, the praising person sang a hymn again and asked the bride to get off the sedan chair. The bride then gets off the sedan with the support of the old man, stands in front of the left side of the altar table, and moves away from the sedan chair. Then invite the groom into the hall to worship heaven and earth and perform three kowtows. Stand up after the ceremony. At this time, the person paying tribute said: "Please wish the birthday star a happy birthday, please..." After three invitations, the birthday star came to the hall. The person giving the tribute hands over a longevity stick (made of straw) wrapped in red paper with the word "happy" on it. The old longevity star holds the longevity stick in both hands and first buckles the groom's crown three times, chanting "Blessings, longevity, and many men"; then buckles the bride's phoenix crown three times, chanting "Eternal wealth, water, wealth, and everlasting health." The old man quit after celebrating his birthday. At this time, the person praying praised: "Husband and wife bow to each other." If the man bows, the woman will be blessed. After the ceremony, the bride and groom are sent off to the bridal chamber with singing. At this time, colored silk is used to connect the new couple. The groom steps back and leads the bride into the bridal chamber, where they sit side by side on the bed, which is called "sitting in the tent." There is a knot of red silk and a knot of green silk on the candle holder. Each of the two children is a "candle bearer". Afterwards, the red silk is given to the boy and the green silk is given to the girl). When sitting in the tent, the bride sits on the head. The groom then used the longevity stick used by old birthday stars to lift off the hijab on the bride's head. Only then did the bride reveal her true face. Then, the best man and his sister-in-law each hold a wine glass and invite the bride and groom to drink "a cup of wine." The bride and groom each touch their lips, change wine glasses, and the bride and groom drink again. Then they put on two small bowls of rock sugar lotus seeds, and they exchanged some with each other as before. So the ceremony of "sitting in the tent" was completed. The groom exits, takes off his bonus and rests. At this time, the old birthday star sent Fentiandi code. The ceremony of worship is completed.
Eating the first meal at the first table: The first meal at the first table is a ceremony for newlyweds to eat their first meal at the same table. There is an Eight Immortals table in the main hall, on which are placed various fruits, dishes, wine sets and tableware. The bride and groom sit opposite each other, and the bride sits on the head of the family. Together with the worship hall and the tent, the bride goes out of the family head three times, which is called "once entering the husband's door and going up three times." The person sitting horizontally is the sister-in-law on the top and the aunt on the bottom. The best man had no seat and had to stand behind the groom. These accompanying guests, together with other guests, can serve the bride and groom with wine, food and auspicious words. But none of the six people sitting there were allowed to eat or drink, it was just a formality. After sitting down, the wedding was basically over. The next step is to pay respects to ancestors and elders, and to meet with seniors and juniors.