1. Combined Eight Characters
After the matchmaker proposes marriage and obtains the consent of the girl’s family, the two parties exchange Geng Tie. Based on the birth year, month, day, hour and animal signs of both parties, it is calculated to check whether they are compatible with each other. It is called the combination of eight characters.
2. Betrothal gifts and dowry
The most typical ones are the "three big items": watches, bicycles, and sewing machines in the 1970s; refrigerators, color TVs, and washing machines in the 1990s; Air conditioners, stereos, and video recorders; in the 21st century, they have become houses, cars, and money.
In addition, the girl’s dowry also includes new quilts, satin quilts of various colors and other fabrics. Gifts given by relatives are often used as dowries for the woman's wedding the next day, usually including cloth, boxes, towels, kettles, and gifts.
The man’s betrothal gift will include two chickens, dozens of kilograms of meat, dozens of kilograms of rice, several kilograms of peanuts, wine and gifts ranging from 200 to 600 yuan (depending on the family’s economic conditions).
3. Sitting in the Geitang
In the Geitang, there are several tables and plates of fruits in the courtyard. The woman's handkerchief friends, neighbors, babies, and little sisters all sat and stood around casually, singing songs in a lively manner, congratulating the bride on her wedding, and receiving red envelopes during the singing.
Relatives and friends sang with the girl to spend her last night as a girl, and the lingering emotions of separation were heart-wrenching.
4. Crying for Marriage
Crying for Marriage is a crying and singing ritual performed by the bride when she gets married. The main content is to thank parents and elders for their upbringing and the care of brothers, sisters-in-law, and siblings. ; Weeping about the sadness of the passing of the happy life of girlhood and the confusion and uneasiness before the new life comes.
I heard from the old people that in the early days, there was no one who could not cry when getting married. If a girl gets married without crying, she will be regarded as an uneducated person by her neighbors and become a laughing stock.
5. Sending off and welcoming the bride
Sending off the bride: A married woman is accompanied by two good friends to the groom’s home. These two friends are called "sending off guests". At the same time, the woman's brother, sister-in-law or The brothers and sisters will also go to the groom's home to attend the wedding, but the woman's parents will not attend the wedding.
After the wedding is completed, the "see-off guests" and the accompanying bride's brother, sister-in-law or brothers and sisters will also receive towels as gifts.
Welcome: When the bride is still some distance away from the groom’s home, the cook will catch a red rooster, bleed it on the spot and circle it around the bride. At the same time, firecrackers will be set off nearby to heighten the festive atmosphere.
The matchmaker then presides over the bride's visit and entry into the bridal chamber. The bride will stay in the bridal chamber for a period of time until it is time to toast the guests, accompanied by her sister-in-law or "bridal guests", while the groom will come out of the bridal chamber to chat with the guests. Or prepare matters related to the wedding banquet.
6. Making a fuss in the bridal chamber
Not only does the bridal chamber make the family happy, but the relatives and friends who make the bridal chamber also take the opportunity to make a fuss and use various new tricks to make the bride and groom feel "suffering". I can't laugh or cry.
In ancient times, Chinese people usually married blindly. Not only did they lack pre-marital contact, they even never met each other. The wedding ceremony is a process that forces the bride and groom to cooperate with each other and the feeling that they must be close and dependent on each other to survive. In fact, it helps them to enter the role of husband and wife faster.
Some of the uncivilized phenomena of today's vulgarizing of making trouble in the bridal chamber are: on the one hand, people have forgotten the practical significance of whether making trouble in the bridal chamber is needed and for whom; on the other hand, modern people are well-informed, but because Those who make trouble in the wedding ceremony cannot reach the critical point, so they come up with many vulgar practices.
7. Wine for individual guests and wine for returning guests
On the second day of the wedding, it is also called wine for individual guests. Relatives and friends will go home after breakfast, and the groom and bride will give some as gifts. Give a gift to the "matchmaker" and call her Xie the matchmaker.
Then the man’s mother-in-law will look through the four corners of the bride’s dowry box. If the woman’s mother puts money in the four corners of the box, the man’s mother-in-law will also double the money and add more money, and the woman’s mother will also put money in the four corners of the box. Put some gift money from the suitcase on top.
Afterwards, the bride and groom return to their parents’ homes. At this time, the bride's family was having a homecoming banquet to entertain new friends and congratulate her on the happy event, thus completing a wedding.
8. Baba Xi and Nine Big Bowls
Nine big bowls, also known as Baba Xi and Jiudou Bowl, are a unique traditional folk feast in rural areas of Sichuan and Chongqing. Banquets are set up for weddings, weddings, New Years and festivals, ranging from a few tables to dozens of tables, to entertain neighbors, relatives and friends. The scene is grand, and weddings are even more essential.
The specialty of Jiu Da Bowl focuses on steamed vegetables. It is named after the nine major dishes of steamed vegetables, namely: soft-fried steamed pork, steamed pork ribs, steamed beef with flour, steamed turtle, steamed muddy chicken, Steamed duck, steamed elbow, stuffed pork, salty roasted white.