There is too much content in the complete set of wedding customs of Old Tianjin Wei. Here is a detailed description of the wedding ceremony.
Marrying is the most lively ceremony among marriage etiquette and customs, which is equivalent to "welcoming in person" among the "six rites" in ancient times. Preparations for a wedding are quite complicated. In addition to the matters such as hanging the sedan chair and arranging the bridal chamber, which have been specially described above, a series of things such as inviting waiters, drummers, ordering banquets, renting tables and chairs, etc. must also be put in place.
1. Hire drummers
There are three types of drummers. One is to play Manchu music with suona; the other is to play Han music with orchestra; the other is to play "Southern music" with cymbals, cymbals and drums. "Noisy" percussion. The drummers are all barbers who do this as a side job. They all wear red coats, Tianma patchwork, red tassel hats, and Qing Dynasty clothing, while other drummers all wear Ming Dynasty clothing.
Send a sedan chair to the bride
2. Send a "photograph box"
On the wedding day, the groom's waiter prepares a meal for relatives and friends; the master chef in the kitchen prepares noodles and During the banquet, the host’s family sent a maid to the bride’s house to deliver a small rectangular suitcase to the bride’s house. It was called a “photography box” with a cover and two bottoms. Inside the box were rouge, powder, silk thread and a pair of quilts. Small earrings called "lilacs" and other items. Most of these are prepared for the bride to dress up before getting into the sedan chair, but the silk threads are used to twist the bride's face when she sits in the tent; the groom must be accompanied by the best man to bathe and change clothes. Since there is a saying of getting married, the groom can wear official uniform. Most people wear long robes and mandarin jackets, mainly in brown, purple, blue and other colors (after the Republic of China, blue robes and green mandarin jackets were common), and silk and black boots. A pair of small golden flowers are placed on the head, which is said to be "new". The groom is not allowed to leave the bridal chamber before leaving the sedan chair and ringing the bell.
3. Send out the sedan chair
To send out the sedan chair, you need to send people from the wedding room to carry the sedan chair and wait for the ceremonial deacons to pick up the bride. The departure time for the sedan chair is seven or eight o'clock in the morning. If the distance is far, you have to start early. At this time, the staff in the gang room used the armrest board as a signal to notify the various workers who were busy with the happy event. Then, the waiter calls out "Come on, guys!" and the trumpeter blows the trumpet to signal the new house. It is called "ringing the house". Then, the gong was sounded to clear the way, and everyone set off in order, still guided by the waiter, followed by two pairs of people holding golden flowers and boxes. The box contains a "door-to-door invitation", which is delivered by the groom to the bride's home in the name of "nephew" (originally, the door-to-door invitation was delivered to the bride's home by the groom himself in an eight-carriage sedan, commonly known as "the door-to-door invitation". Marry"). After that, there are flags, gongs, umbrellas, fans and other ceremonial deacons. In addition, there must be four people holding the red felt. Since the sedan chair and the bride are not allowed to touch the ground directly, they must use red felt to cushion the ground. Therefore, these four people are responsible for pouring the red felt. There are also a neatly dressed "salan bearer boy" sitting in a sedan chair and two boys called "rooster mats".
At this time, the girl’s family was also very busy. In addition to preparing food to entertain relatives and friends, a maid should be sent to deliver 100 cooked dumplings to the groom's family (it was said to be 100, but in fact it was 96, and the bride's family kept 4) for the newlyweds to eat when they sit in the tent. The "descendants' pastry" is commonly known as "descendants' flat food (light pronunciation shi)". These dumplings are handed over to the groom's family, and Quanke people put them on the Kang table in the new house together with four small dishes. (In Tianjin Wei Quan Ke Ren'er refers to a person who has both husband and wife and children, and the number of children is an auspicious number. For example, if the children have five boys and two girls, it is an auspicious number. One more will not work, and one less will not work.)
When the groom's family's sedan and the rest of the party arrive, the waiter hired by the bride's family will accompany the host's family to greet them. The bride's cousins, uncle and other close relatives will carry the inner layer of the sedan, that is, the sedan core, to the door of the hall. After exiting the waiting period, all the sound instruments accompanying him should be played lively.
4. Going up
When the wedding sedan arrives, the bride will be helped by Quan Ke to sit on an armchair placed in the designated direction on the kang, and then change into She wears bright red underwear, and then starts to comb her hair, commonly known as "top hair". The hairstyle is to put each lock of hair horizontally on the head and tie it with a red velvet rope. It is called "grabbing bun", which means "hair-knotted couple". Wear a hairpin and a crown on your bun head. The crown is made of thick paper clips and is in the shape of a small round bowl. It is pinned on the head and is called "Old Crown". It must be taken off after sitting in the tent. When the bride goes up, she steps on two model boats, which are called "happy boats", and each has its own meaning. One is named "Qilin Sends a Child" and the other is named "Gourd for All Generations". The wedding boat coincides with the crown worn on the head, which means "official transmission from generation to generation" and expresses the wish for a smooth career for the groom and his descendants. The bride should hold a piece of candy in her mouth, which means that the days to come will become sweeter and sweeter. At this time, the two boys on the "rooster mat" sent by the groom's family were standing under the window outside the house above the bride. The boy holding the rooster had to beat the rooster and make it crow several times, which was called "beating the rooster on the head". The boys on the mat walked around him.
5. Lighting and Ironing the Sedan
While waiting for the bride to come up, the bride’s family will host a banquet to entertain the group of people who come to pick up the bride. The quality of the food is very high. It must be high and must have delicacies such as bird's nest and shark's fin, so it is also called "swallow's fin mat". More sophisticated people will also place the sedan chair in the courtyard, light the lamp on the top of the sedan chair and all the string lights and lanterns accompanying it, and call it "lit sedan chair" to show their generosity. The lighting time of a candle is one session, usually more than one session, and some need to be lit for two sessions. At this time, additional wedding money must be given to the bearers, trumpeters and deacons. In particular, they attach great importance to the hospitality of the bearers, and they also like to have more money than others, in order to allow them to hold the sedan steadily so that the bride will suffer less.
An elderly woman from relatives, friends and neighbors is also asked to use a lamp or mirror to take a look inside the sedan, saying "shining the sedan", which is intended to drive away evil spirits and bad luck. At the same time, hold an iron (internally burning spices) and walk around the sedan chair twice, which is called "ironing the sedan chair" to feel warm like spring.
6. Dressing up and getting into the sedan chair
After the bride gets up, she puts on all the jewelry given by her husband’s family during the wedding ceremony, and then goes down to put on the robe, skirt, and wedding dress. The color of the wedding dress is extremely bright, and the decorations are splendid. The inner layer is a set of bright red or plum red satin clothes, and the outer layer is a bell skirt and a floral shirt. The bell skirt is a style of pleated skirt from the Qing Dynasty. The pleated skirt is made of bright red satin fabric. It is decorated with a narrow top and wide bottom tape composed of red, yellow, pink, green, blue and other colors hanging down from the waist. It is embroidered with patterns of pomegranates, gourds, peonies and other flowers and plants. The hem of the belt is triangular and decorated with a small bell. It jingles as you walk, which is very pleasant, hence the name "bell skirt". The floral shirt is made of bright red silk and satin material, with floral patterns embroidered on it. There is Xiapei on his shirt. Wear green socks (these socks are not allowed to be seen by the groom during the ceremony, so they must be taken off and hidden in the sleeves before getting off the sedan) and red embroidered shoes with soft soles (commonly known as "stepping on the bride's feet").
After dressing up, the bride gets into the sedan chair. Earlier, the bride was carried on the palanquin by her brothers. Later, as the bride's marriage age increased to her twenties, it was no longer appropriate for her brother to hold her in her arms, so the bride had to put a pair of her brother's big shoes on her feet and walk backwards, with two people helping her to the center of the sedan. Take off your shoes and step into the small sedan chair. Two people, including the bride's uncle and cousin, will come out to carry the sedan chair to the door of the main hall and put it into the large sedan chair. These two methods are called not to touch the soil of the mother's family, so as not to take away the wealth and luck of the mother's family. The bride is not allowed to turn around in the sedan chair. The left hand should hold a small silver ingot, and the right hand should hold a string of money made with a red headband. It is commonly known as "one hand of silver and one hand of money", which means that you will not go to your husband's house empty-handed. At the same time, putting a small bronze mirror into your chest is said to protect you from disasters and ward off evil spirits. It is considered unlucky if two wedding sedans meet each other on the way to the wedding.
7. Closed door entry
The sedan chair is carried to the groom's house, which is called "entering the door". It is not past noon when entering the house. You must first stop at the gate for a while. The groom's family will set off firecrackers to welcome them and dispel evil spirits. At this time, the door of the groom's house is closed, and the bride must call "Mom, open the door!" several times before the groom's family opens the door to welcome the bride. This is called "closed sex", which aims to make the bride less temperamental in her husband's house. After that, the trumpeters and the deacons of the ceremonial guard came into the hospital, the bearers took out the sedan core, and two more people, including the bride's uncle and cousin, came out to carry the sedan core to the door of the hall. When the bride gets off the sedan chair, the groom should take out the bow and arrow placed in the fight on the table of the Eight Immortals in the wedding hall, and shoot three false shots at the unveiled bride. The bride will then step over the brazier prepared by her husband's family. These are all intended to ward off evil spirits. disaster. Families with many "mothers" will ask the Quanke people to bring the vase and wicker on the altar table to the heart of the sedan chair for the bride to hold in her arms, in order to pray for peace and a prosperous life. The bride does not uncover her head and uses an umbrella and fan to shield her from the outside light. She steps into the bridal chamber with her feet on a red carpet to show that the bride's head will not be exposed to the sun and her feet will not be stained with mud. The groom's family specially arranges for someone to be responsible for pouring the red carpet. Inverting the red felt has the same meaning as the old custom of passing on sacks, which means "carrying on the family line from generation to generation".
When the bride enters the bridal chamber, she must be led by the groom with a red and green scarf. The red and green scarf are two silk scarves tied together. The male is red and the female is green, which symbolizes "red flowers should be paired with green leaves." ", showing the man's supreme family status. The groom's family sprinkles sorghum, millet, beans, money, fruits, etc. on the bride and groom, wishing them many children, good fortune, abundant food and clothing. This custom has now been replaced by sprinkling colorful electro-optical confetti or spray gel ribbons.
The time for getting married has been different in ancient and modern times. In the old days, it was customary to marry a wife in the morning and a widow in the afternoon. Since the emergence of civilized marriage in the 1920s, wives have been married in the afternoon, while widows have remarried in the morning. Marriage customs in suburban counties and other areas today still follow the old rules and marry a daughter-in-law in the morning.
8. Worshiping the Hall
Worshiping the Hall is also called "worshiping heaven and earth". Usually held in the main hall. The layout of the wedding hall requires auspiciousness and prosperity. On the wall facing the hall is a scroll of "Two Immortals of Harmony", with auspicious couplets on both sides. Common ones are such as "Colorful phoenixes and wenluan dance in pairs, pearls and flowers are on the same stems and jade trees are intertwined" and so on. The Eight Immortals table is dedicated to the gods of heaven and earth, with a colorful old man riding a carriage printed on it and the words "Heaven and Earth Dragon Cart". There is also a wooden square bucket covered with red cotton paper to hold sorghum on the table. There is a horizontal plate with holes in the middle, three arrows are inserted on it, and a bow is tied horizontally. A bronze mirror is tied to the bow with red silk. Insert another weighing rod and a basket, and separate the baskets and insert another one. This is called "bow and arrow board fighting", which is a metaphor for fairness and integrity. On both sides of the bow and arrow board, there are wicker liters pasted with red paper. One of the wicker liters with the word Double Happiness on it is called a "treasure vase". There are also stove-food offerings of fruits and apples with the words "Fu", "Lu", "Shou" and "Happiness" on the table, which are called "Happy Fruits". There is also a large incense burner placed in the middle, with a pair of wax sticks on both sides, and burning gold candles with red dragons and phoenixes. The wedding hall is surrounded by tents presented by relatives and friends, which are usually arranged by the waiter according to the seniority and relative order of the recipients. The tents are often decorated with auspicious words such as "a match made in heaven" and "a match made in heaven". All the decorations in the wedding hall are decorated with paper-cut red Double Happiness characters.
The time of worship must be chosen by the astrologer at a good time. When worshiping in the hall, the officiant sings a happy speech to guide the wedding, and two Quan Ke people support the bride and groom to stand side by side in front of the altar table, worshiping heaven and earth, ancestors and parents, and then the husband and wife bow to each other.
The words in the wedding speech are auspicious and festive, and they rhyme with each other, such as "A piece of sandalwood is carved into a saddle. The newlyweds get out of the sedan chair, the nobles help them, spread the red felt, pour the red felt, and pour it in front of the wedding hall." The first is to pay homage to the Jade Emperor Zhang Dadi, and the second is to pay homage to the high hall for peace. The couple pays homage to each other for auspiciousness, and joins them in the bridal chamber to form a happy marriage."
While kowtowing, firecrackers were set off outside the wedding hall to celebrate. Quanke people took down the God of Heaven and Earth, took it to the courtyard together with the yellow money and the paper lock, and handed it to the parents, who put it in the brazier and burned it, and kowtowed to the gods.
9. Sitting in the Tent
After sending off the gods, Quan Ke takes off the weighing rod from the bucket and lets the groom use it to remove the hijab from the bride's head, which is called "picking the hijab". width". After that, insert the scale rod into the bucket. At this time, the gold star on the scale rod should face outward. Quan Keren should recite a happy song: "Lift the door curtain, lift the box, and the bride and groom follow..." to lead the two newlyweds into the bridal chamber. The newlyweds sit side by side on chairs. When sitting, each one is very careful not to have his or her dress pressed down by the other's (this was instructed in advance by the Quanke people of each family) to avoid being offended in the future. After that, they have to drink a glass of wine together. The wine glass is made of coconut scoop tied with a red velvet rope. In the future, people will drink brown sugar water in this way, which is to show the meaning of reconciliation for a hundred years, which is the legacy of the ancient book saying "we eat from the same prison and drink from the same utensil". At this time, we have to eat with our children and grandchildren. The bride should hang a red silk meal list on her chest (because at that time, most wedding gowns were rented, and wealthy families would also customize them at a high price, so they took extra care of them). The groom should take off his coat and hat and change into a hat. The groom's family (usually the mother-in-law) uses a pair of red lacquered "descendants chopsticks" decorated with gold patterns or engraved with dragon and phoenix patterns to pick up the small dumplings in the "descendants bowl" and deliver them to the bride's mouth. Most of the dumplings are half-cooked, commonly known as "descendants' flat food" At this time, everyone around asked: "Is there a baby?" The bride should immediately answer: "Girl!" This verbal gesture is used to wish the newlyweds to have children early, which reflects people's concept of having more children and more happiness. This set of etiquette is collectively called "He'an Li", commonly known as "sitting in the tent".
10. Open face
Open face is a sign to identify whether a woman is married or not. Quanke people use silk thread to twist the hair on the bride's face, so it is also called "twisting the face". Then roll a peeled egg on the bride's face a few times, and then apply makeup again. Take off the "lilacs" you put on your ears before getting into the sedan chair, and replace them with long earrings set with jewelry. After opening the face, the small bun that was combed on the head should be combed and combed again, and various jewelry should be inserted. In addition to the gold hairpin on the top, a small round flower inlaid with emerald jewelry should also be inserted, which is also called " Crown". Its diameter is only four to five centimeters, which is related to the identity of women. In those days, it was common for wealthy families to take concubines, and they relied on crowns to identify their concubines. No matter how favored the married couple was, they were not allowed to wear crowns, bright red skirts, or cloaks. If the husband has a title, the wife will have a tiny crown and quill on her crown according to her husband's rank. When celebrating a birthday or celebrating a birthday, they wear it to show their identity.
11. People to avoid
After entering the wedding ceremony, the bride should sit cross-legged beside the descendants' lamp at the head of the kang and not get off the kang for three days. During this period, relatives and friends can enter the bridal chamber to "see the newlyweds," but there must be someone guarding the outside of the bridal chamber to ask for their zodiac signs one by one. People with certain zodiac signs calculated by astrologers are not allowed (the so-called three avoidances, which are calculated based on the bride's zodiac signs). If the bride is born in the year of the Ox, and the Ox is Chou, and the lower part is Yin, then it is forbidden to enter the bridal chamber with the three signs of Yin, Tiger, Wu Horse, and Xu Dog), pregnant women, women who have been married for less than one month, or people who are in mourning, which is called "forbidden people". ".
12. The master serves soup
In the evening, the groom’s family will hold a grand banquet. ". Special attention should be paid to entertaining the bride’s family. The woman's family, relatives and friends should be invited to eat the first table of food at the banquet first. The bride's elder brother and younger brother are the guests, and the groom's family should be particularly respectful and not dare to neglect them. The last soup of the banquet must be served by the master chef himself. At this time, the head of the bride's family should thank the master chef on behalf of the bride's family and express his hard work. At the same time, he should give the red envelope containing the gift money to the bride. master.
13. Having a wedding ceremony
Having a wedding ceremony is the second climax of the wedding day after the wedding ceremony. After the banquet is over, two pairs of boys and girls aged seven or eight must be allowed into the bridal chamber. After that, people can pour into the bridal chamber and call them "the new daughter-in-law", "the funny daughter-in-law" or "the captive daughter-in-law" to express their wedding congratulations to the bride and groom. At this time, no matter the generation, no matter how big or small, there is no taboo to play as much as you want. There is a saying that "there is no big or small thing for three days" and "it is fun to be happy, and the more noisy the more joyful it becomes."
At this time, the accompanying mothers (mostly maids) left by the bride’s natal family have to entertain and beg for mercy from those who are causing trouble in the wedding ceremony. In the beginning, it was usually the bride who sat motionless on the kang, and the accompanying mother took care of all the socializing. Later, it gradually evolved into the bride and groom entertaining guests together.
During the wedding ceremony, the groom uses a scale to lift the bride's hijab
14. Quilt making
Quilt making is actually a localized tent-casting ceremony in Tianjin. The mother-in-law asked Quan Ke to be responsible for making the warm quilt for the newlyweds, commonly known as "warm quilt", and scattered three kinds of food: dates, chestnuts, and peanuts under the quilt beside the bed. While scattering, she recited a happy song: "A handful of chestnuts. "Jujubes, girls and boys are running around", "Peanuts and peanuts are blooming, and dates and chestnuts (early rising seeds) are blooming", in order to wish the newlyweds early fertility and many children. After laying down the quilt, Quan Keren will bring over the tin lamp, fill it with sesame oil, mix it with some honey, and then add lamp grass to light it, saying "mixing oil with honey", which means the harmony between husband and wife.
After that, put a stool in front of the lamp, put a copper basin on it, put the tin lamp in the basin, and chant "copper basin and tin lamp, feeding children is called continuous life..." When the happy words are read to a certain content, the people concerned wait. It also needs to be accompanied by actions. For example, when the Quanke people sing the happy song of "take the basin first, hold the nephew first", the groom's sister or elder sister will bring the small bedpan used by the newlyweds at night to the bridal chamber; if the sister-in-law brings it in, the new sister-in-law must pay Give happy money.
When all the rituals of making the quilt were completed, Quan Keren kicked out all the spectators to let the newlyweds rest. Since the oil lamp in the basin cannot be extinguished, it has to be fiddled with or refilled from time to time. Therefore, the bride mostly sits by the wedding barrel, and the groom can only lie down in his clothes.
15. Eating rice from one’s mother’s house
The bride cannot get off the kang within 3 days after entering the bridal chamber. Moreover, they are not allowed to eat food from their husband's family, and their mother's family must send them a table of food and drinks every day. Every table of food and wine in the natal family is arranged according to regulations. For example, on the first day, it is given by the parents, called "portable meal" or "first table meal", which is brought by the bride when she gets into the sedan chair; on the second day, it is given by the aunt. On the third day, it was given by brothers and other contemporaries. Accompanying the meal is a red gift sticker that can be folded in 40%, with the word "Full Blessing" written on it. The top line on the inside page reads "I would like to prepare a table for a wedding banquet, and I will serve it with cooking and respect", and the bottom line reads "Suitable for the descendants of a certain family in a certain county." ". This custom shows the attachment and love of the natal family to the married girl. Moreover, the meals delivered are very rich, including 16 plates, 4 large bowls, and 6 small bowls, commonly known as "the banquet". The 16 dishes are divided into 4 dry, 4 fresh, 4 meat, 4 o'clock and 16 kinds of food. The staple food is mostly lo mein, which means "longevity". Since the bride will not go to the ground for three days, most of them dare not eat or drink more to avoid inconvenience. In order to satisfy hunger, only eat dry and fresh fruits such as chestnuts, bananas, apples, or a few noodles as a token meal. During this period, the mother-in-law will also prepare 4 apples for the bride, which is homophonic for "everything is stable". After receiving the "go to the banquet" gift, she will write a 40% red thank you note in the name of the hostess to express her gratitude to her natal family.