Generally speaking, the marriage of the Han nationality has six processes: proposal, engagement, heart-to-heart, marriage, ceremony and returning to the door.
Proposing marriage is matchmaking. If the parents of both men and women intend to let their children get married or both men and women fall in love freely, they should ask the matchmaker (introducer) to propose marriage to the woman's parents at an appropriate time. The matchmaker plays the role of introducing the situation of both parties, matchmaking, asking questions about life and giving gifts and articles as witnesses. There used to be a full-time matchmaker, but now most of the introducers are enthusiastic and familiar with wedding customs and etiquette.
Through the accommodation of the introducer, the two sides agreed to hold an engagement ceremony on a date after marriage. In the old days, men and women generally got engaged at the age of 13 ~ 14. On the appointed day, the man will go to the woman's house with the agreed bride price and bring cigarettes, wine and food. The woman's family called her next of kin and booked a seat. The next day, the woman and the man went back to the man's house to drink "warrior wine", and the man's house entertained the close relatives and changed the clothes for the woman at the right time.
The man sent a matchmaker to the woman's house to agree on the date of the wedding ceremony. In the past, I paid more attention to choosing dates, but now I choose days when both men and women are free, or around Labor Day, National Day, New Year's Day and Spring Festival.
After both men and women get the marriage certificate, they can hold the wedding on the set day. Before the ceremony, the woman "hires a woman" and the man "marries a daughter-in-law", also known as "marriage". On the wedding day, the man's family gave a big banquet, dressed in red inside and outside, and welcomed relatives and friends from all over the world to congratulate him. Early in the morning, a wedding team consisting of the matchmaker, the groom's sister, brother-in-law and brother set out for the woman's house to get married. The man brought a wedding dress to the woman. The bride was seen off by her brother and sister-in-law, and a younger brother or nephew "pressed the sedan chair". On the way back, if you meet a well, a mill, a toilet, etc. The man's brother-in-law will cover it with a red carpet. At the wedding banquet, the newlyweds salute and toast their relatives and friends who come to attend the wedding ceremony until the banquet is over. In the old days, "sedan chair" or "carriage" was used for weddings, and the etiquette was complicated. The woman asked the man's family for "money from her mother's family", "money for getting on the sedan chair" and "money for getting off the sedan chair". Give the bride face and comb her hair. The present ceremony was presided over by "Dai Dong". Hire a band to enliven the atmosphere. There are joking in-laws and sisters-in-law at the wedding banquet, and there are customs such as "entering the bridal chamber" and "making trouble in the bridal chamber" at night.
On the second day of their wedding, the couple went back to their parents' home, which is called "returning to the door", and there are customs of "returning to three places" and "staying seven and staying eight".
In the 1950s, women were liberated from the shackles of feudal marriage system, young men and women were free to fall in love, the two sides got to know each other before marriage, the marriage ceremony was simplified, and the buying and selling marriage once disappeared.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the demand for bride price in rural areas gradually increased. This woman wants three big items: a bike, a watch and a sewing machine. Count the clothes in winter and summer. In the middle and late 1970s, the number of freelancers increased, which was recognized and praised by the public. In the 1980s, traveling and getting married were a fashion. Rural men want to build new houses for newcomers, and most urban cadres and workers are free to fall in love and get married. Generally, the woman doesn't want a bride price, and asks the man's family to prepare a new house and modern furnishings, and hold a banquet to celebrate the ceremony. The bride's parents' dowry is increasing day by day.
In addition, there are customs such as full moon, centenary, birthday, giving birth to children, birthday, putting on beams, and overlapping.