First of all, the matchmaking agency is engaged.
Traditional marriage customs require strict adherence to feudal ethics, obedience to parents' orders, matchmakers' words, and attention to the right door. When a man and a woman get married, they must hire a matchmaker, and the two sides are not allowed to set a life in private. In Quwo and Houma, both men and women agreed to invite the matchmaker to eat "face-to-face". First, they went to the woman's house for dinner and ate happy noodles, which was her affirmation. Then go to the men's house for dinner. Besides noodles, some men also let them eat the "double zygote" with rice in the middle of double steamed cakes.
Second, change jobs and win prizes.
Longfeng wedding invitation is a certificate for men and women to enter the marriage hall. Therefore, after the two sides exchange wedding invitations, the man must also make a "proposal invitation" and ask the matchmaker to propose to the woman's family. If the woman's family agrees, she will return to the "marriage permission post", on which three generations of names and marriage-related information will be posted. In the early years of the Republic of China, it was stipulated that both men and women should pay taxes and contributions in the local county government, and get an engagement certificate, commonly known as "Longfeng Gong Post", which also contained the names, ages, parents and matchmakers of both parties, and stamped their official seals to prove that the marriage had been legally completed.
To accept the bride price, commonly known as the bride price, the man should give the woman certain property, such as silver dollars, satin clothes, eight pairs of skirts, uppers, red and green handkerchiefs, etc. It usually takes ten pieces to express "perfection". The woman also gave some simple gifts in return, such as "the precious son of lotus peanut", a flour noodle, ten pomegranates, ten bags of bran wrapped in paper and salt. Its folk symbolic meaning is to wish you many children and grandchildren after marriage. After the salt is brought back to the man, it should be sprinkled on the in-laws and sister-in-law, indicating that there is a "strict (salt) law" between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law. The whole family, old and young, have the spirit of "Fu (Bran)". At the same time, salt is homophonic with life and contains the meaning of life. I hope the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are close. These gifts are light and heavy, and they are entrusted with the good wishes of the people.
Third, please make a date and welcome in person.
Asking someone to date, commonly known as "seeing the sun." First of all, the man chooses an auspicious day according to the "wedding and wedding week", writes down the wedding date on the red sticker, and asks the matchmaker to give it to the woman for advice. The woman thinks that the wedding date is fixed if she doesn't violate taboos. One or two days before the wedding, let the girl to be married be "all blessed", that is, twist two threads repeatedly and pull out the hair on her face and temples, and the bride will become more beautiful and handsome, indicating that the virgin life is over and a new life is about to begin. On the wedding day, the groom takes the band and the wedding team to the Yue family to marry the bride. This is called "kissing". The scene is quite spectacular: in front of it is a colorful flag guard of honor with the images of "Flying Tiger" and "Qinglong", followed by a group of trumpeters who blow gongs to clear the way, some carrying lanterns, some holding big cards of "welcome guests" and "silence", followed by the bride's sedan chair and the groom's official sedan chair, with drums and music ringing along the way. When the wedding procession arrives at the daughter's house, the groom worships the son of God first, and then his parents-in-law, relatives and friends. Then get off and return. At the time of reunification, both Hongtong and Xinjiang are in the evening, following the old saying that "marriage is bound to faint, and its yang is also cloudy." (Youyang Miscellany) Its roots can be regarded as the legacy of the system of robbing marriage in the early Republic of China. Mother should sit on the stool where the bride sat before getting on the sedan chair, so as not to take away the blessings of her family. The bride must spread a mat on the floor from home to the sedan chair, wear embroidered shoes on her feet and red paper shoes on her soles, and then peel them off when she gets on the sedan chair. When the bride gets into the sedan chair, she will cry as usual. This is called "crying marriage". On the one hand, this is an expression of true feelings. The bride grew up with her parents and was affectionate. Suddenly, her daughter is going to be a wife. Out of concern and fear for her future life, she thought of the kindness of her parents in the past, and naturally she was deeply reluctant to give up. She couldn't help crying and crying. On the other hand, it is also out of psychological superstition. The local people believe that the bride's family will not prosper if she doesn't cry when she gets into the sedan chair. There is a folk saying: "My daughter is crying for a prize, and her family has money." It is considered auspicious to get married crying before leaving. Some brides don't cry, but their parents pretend to fight and make them cry. Crying has become a specific folk custom.
The team of sedan chairs, sedan chairs are not allowed to land along the way, in case of accidents. It is said that this originated from the legend of "Liang Zhu": On the wedding day, Zhu Yingtai passed by the tomb of Liang Shanbo and asked to get off the sedan chair to watch. As a result, he jumped into the grave and Liang Zhu became a butterfly. People understand from the opposite side that Zhu Yingtai's death was caused by stopping the sedan chair, so the custom of stopping the sedan chair on the way to marriage was formed. As the saying goes: "The sedan chair is in charge of the sedan chair, but the bride does not pee." It means that the bride is not allowed to get off the sedan chair in the middle of something important.
Fourth, worship the church and confinement.
The bride's sedan chair came back and stopped at the gate. The bride first threw the steamed bread hidden in the long sleeves to everyone, and people rushed to eat it, thinking that eating the bride's steamed bread would not hurt their teeth. Some children have no teeth, so they take the opportunity to let the bride touch them. When getting off the sedan chair, the bride was supported by two "all-blessed people", dressed in a crowned dress and covered with a red hijab. The groom is wearing a dress and jacket, wearing red flowers and holding the bride with red silk. At this time, two people wrapped the floor with red cloth and passed it back and forth, letting the bride walk on it. From time to time, some people grab food and sprinkle it on the bride, chanting: "One sprinkle gold, the other sprinkle silver, and the third sprinkle daughter-in-law into the door." I was lucky when I entered the gate, and everything went well when I entered the second gate. " Put a fire and a saddle at the door for the bride to jump over. Jumping the brazier means that the days after marriage are booming; The purpose of crossing the saddle is to pray for the new couple to grow old together and live safely all their lives, and also to let the bride know the rules, so that "a good horse doesn't have two saddles, because a woman doesn't marry two men." On auspicious occasions, a wedding will be held, commonly known as "worshipping heaven and earth", presided over by the master of ceremonies, with one worshipping heaven and earth, the other worshipping ancestors, the third worshipping the high hall, and finally the couple will pay homage.
Interestingly, in some places, after the ceremony, the bride is required to kneel down to honor her son, commonly known as "squatting new". The way is to wrap the stool in a protective skirt, and the bride is assisted by the bridesmaid. At this time, the naughty young man took the opportunity to move the stool behind him. If the bridesmaids don't take good care of them, the bride will squat on the ground and cause laughter. There are two jingles circulating among the people: "Respect your son this year and see your grandson next year." Therefore, after "squatting new", someone quickly gave the stool to her mother-in-law to sit for a while, hoping to have grandchildren early.
After the ceremony, the bride and groom entered the bridal chamber to make a toast, and then walked around the kang hand in hand, commonly known as "worshipping the four corners", in order to pray for the early favor of their sons and daughters. As they walked, they chanted, "Worship-worship-worship the four corners, which are guarded by the four-cornered empress. There are more children than women, and husband and wife are always good. " Then, the groom quits and the bride sits on the kang facing the corner. This is called "sitting on the bill". At this time, the bride is holding a weight in her hand and a sneer in her arms, suggesting that she will be as fair, ingenious, hardworking and intelligent as the weight in the future.
Five, bridal chamber, back to the door.
How to spend the wedding night? Although the so-called wedding night is worth a thousand dollars, the once-in-a-lifetime wedding is definitely lively. Making trouble in the bridal chamber is not only a way for newcomers to be happy, but also a way for relatives and friends to express their best wishes to newcomers. Good Wedding Bian Xiao recommends five wedding night bridal chamber games for new people to make your wedding interesting.
On the wedding night, there is a custom of making a wedding in southern Shanxi, which is called "begging for a wife". As the saying goes, "there is no size within three days", which means that within three days of marriage, peers, elders and younger generations can join in the fun in an informal way. However, the peers make the most trouble in the bridal chamber, and the elders are few. Marriage is a major event in life, so we must be "happy". Relatives and friends attending the bridal chamber should be patient and hospitable even if they go too far. For example, in some places, brides and grooms are allowed to say what they are ashamed to say. For example, the groom said, "Step on the edge of the kang and eat wonton. Ask your relatives first and who you are close to." The woman must answer: "aunt ya, silly idiot, who are you going to kiss?" Some let the bride and groom do some intimate actions. After quarreling, naughty young people will "listen to the bridal chamber" and eavesdrop on the secrets of the bride and groom as a funny joke in the future. If no one listens in the room, the main family plans to put a broom under the window sill to ward off evil spirits.
The bride goes back to her family, usually on the third day after marriage, and the groom also goes to Yue's home to recognize relatives. When I go home, some people are still sitting in sedan chairs, while others are riding horses. When you enter your mother's house, you must jump into the fire to avoid evil spirits.
Although the form is similar, the way of each place is different.