Proposing marriage is the first step in a wedding. The man's family asked the matchmaker to propose marriage to the woman's family. With the consent of the woman's family, the man's family will accept the "spouse selection ceremony" of the woman's family. Marriage is the second step. The matchmaker sent the woman's name and birthday to the man's house in the wedding letter. If there is no accident such as breaking a bowl in the man's house within three days, then the marriage is settled. Engagement is the third step. The man prepares gifts and goes to the woman's house to get engaged. An engagement token is usually a gold ring. When engaged, the woman should distribute candy and cakes to relatives and neighbors to inform them of the news of marriage.
Employment is the fourth step, also called sending employment. The betrothal gift includes the kind and cash, and the kind must include sugar, noodles, oranges (Chaozhou oranges), gold and silver jewelry, cakes, food and so on. Cash, also known as "engagement money", can be divided into one, two and four. None of them can be odd, but must be even. Invitation is the fifth step, choose the wedding date and inform the woman.
At the time of invitation, you should also tell the woman when to "pull her face" (open her face, that is, twist the hair off her face with a thread), when to take a shower and when to get married. The wedding ceremony is the last step and the most important procedure of the wedding. The groom goes to the woman's house to marry the bride.
Taboos on Marriage in Chaoshan Area
1, ten thousand faces
On the eve of the bride's wedding, she needs plastic surgery. Pulling a face, also known as "opening a face" and "trimming a face", is very solemn, because this is the first beauty activity in a girl's life, and the person in charge of pulling a face must be "lucky". After the "arm-in-arm" is finished, give the "lucky man" a thank-you gift. Due to the popularity of modern beauty, several techniques such as "face pulling" almost disappeared and became "stunts".
Step 2 take a shower and change clothes
The bride needs to take a shower and change clothes another day. Brides in Chao 'an area should bathe with fairy grass and pomegranate flowers. After taking a shower, she will stand in a bamboo pole prepared in advance, and the "lucky" sent by the man will put on her wedding dress.
In Raoping area, pomegranate flowers and other 12 kinds of flowers and leaves should be placed in the bride's bathtub. After bathing, the bride sat in the basin and ate two boiled eggs, praying for a smooth birth after marriage (like a hen).
When the bride leaves her mother's house, all the extra clothes inside and outside can't be sewn, which means that she won't put away her mother's "luck" and will go to her husband's house to create a new world.
Step 3 sleep on the ground
In the old Chaozhou area, girls could not sleep in bed the night before marriage, but only on the ground. Legend has it that a woman got married in ancient times. Her stepmother didn't treat her like a human being, so she made the bed and let her sleep on the floor
The Guanyin Bodhisattva who sent her son sympathized with her and gave her a child and two sons. Later, all the sons became officials. In order to make the woman's children flourish after marriage, people have followed suit and become a custom. But this custom has been abolished now.