Whether the young men and women know each other or not, they should make up through the matchmaker.
First, the matchmaker went to the woman's house to propose marriage. If the woman's parents think it is appropriate, copy the girl's birthday on red paper and let the matchmaker take it back to the man's parents. The man immediately asked the fortune teller to take his life. If the birthdays of men and women do not agree, the matchmaker will take the man's parents or new son-in-law to the woman's house for blind date, unannounced visit or meeting the bride. There are also women who go to the man's home to "travel home" to learn the details of the man.
Both parents took a fancy to it, that is, they sent a bride price and a bride price to discuss the engagement. The engagement fee is a considerable sum, and there are hundreds of cakes. In the northwest of Longyan, it is best to use "nine", which means "long", indicating that love will never change. So the engagement fee is 899,3900, and some are 6,999 yuan and 99 cents. It takes 899 yuan and 3900 yuan for the man to send an engagement, including 6999 yuan. 99 yuan. The man sends the bride price money to the woman's house, and the woman's house will open the door and set off firecrackers to welcome him. After receiving the bride price, the mother-in-law will cook "meat powder eggs" for her son-in-law to eat, and return peanuts as a welcome. The man went back and distributed it to the neighbors, announcing the success of the engagement. The woman will distribute the engagement cake to relatives and friends, and relatives and friends will send a piece of cloth to make up the makeup, which enriches the mother's dowry. Then the man's family asks someone to choose an auspicious day as the wedding date, and the matchmaker sends the time and date to the woman's family. The woman's mother will take her daughter and son-in-law to the city to prepare a dowry, buy all the clothes, utensils and furnishings of the girl's wedding, and the man will deliver them to the woman's house three or five days before the wedding. These dowries are usually based on satisfying the woman. Also ask the woman how much meat, flour and noodles she needs for the wedding banquet; Find out how many people are coming to the wedding, so as to know how many tables to set for receiving relatives.
Marriage is based on the date chosen by the man, and the bride should be prepared to go out. The bride should send the betrothal gift to the man's house one day in advance to decorate the new house, and ask the old woman to twist off her hair with red and green lines, cut her hair and trim her eyebrows. It's called dressing up for the bride. In some places, the bride still wants to marry with an empty stomach in tears to show that she doesn't want to go to her parents' house.
In the past, brides used to go out in a sedan chair, but now most of them use brides to accompany five or six people out, or by car or on foot. In Wan 'an Mountain area of Longyan, friends and relatives should be invited to carry the bride to her husband's house before dawn. On the wedding day, both men and women's homes have been cleaned, and red is hung in front of the gate, indicating a happy event. The man's auditorium is richly decorated, and the bride's room is beautifully dressed. An ever-burning lamp was lit in the bride's room, and an experienced old woman guarded the new house. In the hall, cloth couplets sent by relatives and friends are hung in the hall in order, and the first one in the main hall is the couplet of the man's mother and uncle.
In the morning, for the wedding, the bride's sedan chair arrives at her husband's house, and the man will set off firecrackers to welcome her. When the bride came in, an old lady took an umbrella to welcome her into the bride's room. All the brothers and aunts in the family should stay away for a while, and don't meet the bride in the hall corridor to show good luck. Then, both the bride and groom walked out of the hall for a meeting. One worships heaven and earth, the other worships in-laws and the third worships Gaotang. After the husband and wife worship, they both enter the bridal chamber. Then the bride, led by her mother-in-law, went out with sweet tea to meet her relatives. If you meet your in-laws, relatives and friends, invite her to tea. Relatives who treat the bride to tea will give her a red envelope as a gift. This money is the bride's "private money" and no one is allowed to use it. After meeting relatives and friends, I began to accompany relatives and friends and guests to the table, and the wedding reception began.
The wedding banquets in Longyan are very rich, with 38 groups in general. Seating at the wedding banquet is also stipulated. The chairman of the hall is the man's mother and uncle, accompanied by the groom, and is called the main table of the hall. The table at one end of the hall didn't move chopsticks, and the other tables didn't dare to move. At the beginning of the wedding reception, firecrackers should be set off. Longyan's wedding banquet is bound to produce a famous dish of boiled fish and assorted vegetables. When the ginger chicken comes out, the groom, accompanied by his parents, will toast on the table one by one. The last line of the wedding banquet was dry rice and barbecue, which indicated that he wanted to eat enough.
If the party is over, we should shoot. If we don't shoot, we shouldn't end. Usually a wedding reception takes two or three hours.
In the evening, in the bridal chamber or the lobby, a bridal chamber is held to welcome all the families in the town to meet the bride at home. On this evening, the groom's friends will come out to preside over the ceremony and invite a young man with funny words to be the master of ceremonies (chairman) to have fun together. Newlyweds will introduce each other the names of the bride and groom. Some ask the bride to disclose her love story, some ask the bride to sing folk songs, and some ask the bride and groom to play games with each other on the spot until late at night. When the rioters disperse, the groom's family will also take out a few baskets of good peanuts and give them to the rioters at the door, in order to have children early and have good luck.
In the evening, the bride and groom will light candles in their bridal chamber, and the newlyweds will eat toast, sweet cakes and oranges to show their love. The bride and groom should greet their parents before sleeping together, and take pictures when they close the door. When you get up the next day, you should give your parents tea and good morning to show family harmony and peace.
A day or two after marriage, the bride will take the groom back to her mother's house. At noon that day, parents will prepare a banquet and invite her son-in-law and relatives and friends. On this day, the bride is the guest of honor and the groom is the guest. In the afternoon, when the newlyweds return, their mother-in-law will give them two plants, sugarcane and mustard, to show that they will live happily and love each other forever.
The bride's brothers and sisters will come out to see her off, and the groom will give red envelopes to those who see her off.