Here are some customs:
There are six wedding customs left over from the history of Shangcai County, namely matchmaking, membership, optimism, stability, marriage and returning to the door.
(1) Before the founding of New China, young men and women must abide by the commandment of "parents' orders, matchmakers' words" when getting married; After the founding of New China, this custom gradually faded, and free love and marital autonomy became fashionable. Young men and women in rural areas are mostly introduced by matchmakers, and men and women who know each other and fall in love freely also choose matchmakers to match up between their families. After introducing each other's personality, family, occupation and hobbies, the matchmaker makes an appointment for the two sides to meet, commonly known as "face to face" and "face to face". If the other person feels that he can communicate and give the other person a token, the man will give some cash to the woman with a handkerchief.
(2) When a man and a woman have been dating for a period of time, whether in writing or orally, they think they are satisfied and can get engaged. The form of engagement is called Zou Qi. The procedure of leaving is: first, the man should hold a banquet and invite the matchmaker and close relatives and friends to have dinner at home. Before we went to the table, we agreed on the opening period and wrote the opening post. Then, the man buys gifts and the matchmaker takes them to the woman's house. After the woman's family agrees, she will accept the post (called Cage), and she will also write a permission post, which will be brought to the man by the matchmaker and returned to him. At this point, both men and women are officially engaged.
(3) After both men and women decide to get married, they enter the marriage negotiation procedure, commonly known as "optimistic". Optimism, also called farewell, refers to the two sides discussing the wedding time, the amount of bride price, the wedding agenda and the way to meet relatives. Before the appointed date, it is generally necessary to ask Mr. Wang to set an auspicious day according to his family's horoscope. An auspicious day is usually two days. After the two sides agree on the auspicious day of the engagement, the man will submit a "good note" to the woman, which is called "watching over the son" or "seeing off". The man should prepare a generous gift, and let the prestigious people in his closest relatives and friends send the "good note" to the woman's home. A general gift includes a large piece of meat, a carp, six boxes of snacks and a pig's heart and lung, which is called the "four-color gift". Also bring cigarettes, wine, vegetables, etc. The most important thing is the bride price (cash). The amount of bride price varies greatly among different families, ranging from several thousand yuan to tens of thousands of yuan. No matter how much, pay attention to lucky numbers. For example, the writing of the article is generally: "I would like to choose a day in the solar calendar (a day in the lunar calendar) as a good day for marriage and sex, and I worship you." In the 1980s, there were generally two people going to see me off. With the prevalence of wedding ceremonies, the number of vehicles has gradually increased. However, no matter how many people there are, it must be an even number, and the woman should invite the corresponding person to accompany her.
(4) Slow and steady is also called sending clothes. A few days before the wedding, the man will invite someone to the woman's house for final consultation before the wedding. Is to ask if the marriage has changed. If there is no change, it can be carried out according to the original plan (generally there is no change, this procedure is just a formality). When it is stable, there are two tasks: one is to ask the woman what else she wants; The second is clothes for the bride's wedding day, including everything from head to toe: shoes, socks, underwear, cotton trousers, cotton-padded jacket, belt and hooded cloth (cloth is red, commonly known as "hooded red"). At this point, the premarital formalities are completed.
(5) Before marriage, both men and women should go through the marriage registration formalities with the local civil affairs department. In Shangcai, the woman calls it "seeing off her daughter", the man calls it "marrying a new wife", holding a wedding is called "getting married", giving the man or woman a gift of etiquette is called "adding a box", and the wedding car should start early, which is called "robbing the car".