The marriage customs in Fuqing can be divided into two categories: traditional and new. Fuqing's traditional wedding customs are quite distinctive in five districts and eight counties (cities) of Fuzhou, and there are also many red tape. With the changes of the times, some programs of traditional marriage customs have gradually faded out of people's sight, some of which have been basically abolished, but there are still traces in some towns and villages. Nowadays, it is not easy to fully experience the whole process of traditional marriage customs. In order to remind people of the past, this paper introduces some programs in traditional marriage customs.

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Old-fashioned wedding customs are generally composed of "paying homage", "eating pig's head", "sucking the belly", "inviting the bride", "stopping the bride", "patting the door", "shouting wine", "making trouble in the bridal chamber" and "please turn to mom". In Gao Long area, especially in Gaoshan, Donghan, Shapu and other towns and villages, there are also links such as "crying" and "making a scene".

In the era when free love was not popular, when men and women reached marriageable age, they generally used "matchmaker mom" to tell their relatives. In order to promote marriage, the "mother matchmaker" sometimes exaggerates the actual situation of both parties, so there is a saying that "the matchmaker talks and the dog farts". If both men and women have sincere contacts, they will secretly "check relatives" through "matchmaker mom" or relatives and friends. If you plan to get married, the woman will give the man a list of gifts and ask him to give her "the first half gift" within a certain period of time. The "first half ceremony" is generally half of the total "gift silver". After the "ceremony of the first half of life", the marriage was basically confirmed. At this time, the man can accompany the woman to take an engagement photo, send some expensive gifts as a sign of engagement, and some even hold an "engagement wine" to show caution. After that, if the man repents, he will not get back the "gift silver"; If the woman goes back on her word, she should take the initiative to return all the money given by the other party.

When a marriage is introduced successfully, the matchmaker's mother can get a pig's head dyed with red paper and an egg cake from the man, which are collectively called "eating pig's head". The bigger the pig's head sends, the more omelettes and cakes there are, indicating that the more decent and beautiful the man is. With the continuous improvement of people's living standards, most people now replace pig heads with rich things.

Marriage generally requires "one day". After the auspicious day of the zodiac is chosen, the man will send a "daily list" to the woman, uploading the dates of cutting clothes, checking out the bill and getting on the sedan chair. At the same time, the man should send a "second half gift". And the woman sends back "Japanese cake" and so on. The man will distribute the "Day Cake" to relatives and friends and announce the wedding date.

Before the auspicious day of the ecliptic, the married sister of the man should buy ornaments to decorate the new house (called "wall") and give property to the groom as a meeting gift, called "abdomen"; The bride's married sister wants to give the bride property, which is called an invitation. The groom is going to send invitations to relatives and friends' homes, which cannot be mailed or brought by others. Therefore, there is a saying that "poems are not sent". On the morning of the wedding, the groom will go to the "delivery bar". There must be 10 "sticks", including: gold needles, mushrooms, candles, noodles, sugar cane, etc. , meaning "perfect". Some even send pigs, all pigs and half pigs, depending on the groom's economic conditions. In addition to accepting some gifts, the woman returned them.

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On the morning of the wedding, the groom will go to the woman's house to "invite the couple". Accompanied by the "Fan Shi Team", the "Inviting Newcomers" team played all the way, which was very lively. On the way home, people heard the sound of gongs and drums and rushed to see the couple. Bolder people will open the car door to see if the couple are handsome. People can also use chairs to stop the welcome team and ask for candy, cigarettes and so on. And asked the "Fan Shi Team" to improvise some songs, Fujian operas, etc. Until they are satisfied. When it is released, people will set off firecrackers to express their gratitude. If you meet another wedding procession on the way, you should first set off firecrackers to show "avoiding urgency". If there is a funeral, you should make a detour and set off firecrackers to avoid "rushing to celebrate". On the way to welcome the new year, passers-by often beg the sedan chair bearers to play tricks on the couple and swing the sedan chair from side to side, but the couple have to be at their mercy and dare not speak out.

Before the couple get on the sedan chair, the family will symbolically comb their hair three times, indicating that they will comb away all their troubles. In some towns and streets, family members should wear a "flesh-and-blood" hair clasp on the new couple's head, hoping that their in-laws will love them deeply in the future.

In Gao Long, newlyweds will also express their reluctance to their parents in the form of "crying tragedy" (that is, singing "crying wedding song", paragraph *** 10), thanking their families and sisters-in-law for their usual love. The "tragedy of crying" is extremely interesting: the couple's brother kneels in front of the sedan chair, and every time the couple "cries" (actually singing) 1, they drop 1 double red chopsticks from the red sedan chair, and the brothers use their bibs to pick them up. After all the 10 paragraphs were sung, the brothers put 10 pairs of red chopsticks into a water tank filled with water. This ceremony is also called "Noisy". In the past, when girls grew up, their mothers or aunts had to teach them to cry tragically. If you don't "cry bitterly" when you get married, you are considered "heartless" (unintentional). With fewer and fewer girls crying now, the custom of "making trouble" is gradually abolished. After the "crying tragedy" ended, the couple got on the sedan chair with the help of their parents, brothers or householders under the protection of a red umbrella (meaning "avoiding evil").

When the newlyweds arrive at the man's house, the groom will wash his feet and freshen up. When the sedan chair arrives home, the man will set off firecrackers to welcome it. At this time, someone will sing the ballad "Please get off the sedan chair". At the moment when the couple get off the sedan chair, there are often clever children who quickly get into the sedan chair, carry the toilet of the couple to the bridal chamber and close the door. This is the so-called "husband and wife room". After the couple got off the sedan chair, they were taken to the hall by the patriarch or elder of the man. Other wives of the man's family and those who have "contradictions" with the bride and groom should avoid each other for the time being until the bride and groom visit the church. When visiting a church, people often sing "the song of visiting a church". Subsequently, the couple were sent back to the bridal chamber by the groom. At this point, the bridal chamber has long been closed. The man who "closed the bridal chamber" asked the groom for cigarettes, sugar and melon seeds. The bride and groom should go down to the bridal chamber to "clap the door" accompanied by the "bridesmaid". Singing the ballad of "knocking at the door", bargaining with the person who "closes the new house" until the other party meets the demand for opening the door. In addition, there are cosmetics, home appliances, furniture, grinding barrels and so on. Those carried by women will be labeled with red notes. If the groom wants to open these red notes, he must give away a lot of cigarettes, sweets and melon seeds. Nowadays, fewer and fewer people can sing the ballad of "tapping the door", and this custom has gradually disappeared.

After the bride and groom enter the bridal chamber, nobody will sit down first. Once one side sits down first, the other side shows a cross expression. Because the one who sits down first will listen to the other's control in the future. Therefore, the bride and groom in the bridal chamber should always be polite. Once the couple enters the bridal chamber, they can't go in and out at will to show reserve.

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After the wedding reception, people can "make trouble in the bridal chamber". Relatives and friends with good eloquence will sing the song "Making a Wedding Room" to entertain, and they are brave enough to flirt with newly married men and women who have never met before. Therefore, the language and behavior of the old "noisy bridal chamber" are often vulgar. With the progress of the times, today's "noisy bridal chamber" is elegant and civilized. People will have some questions or play some small games to test whether the bride and groom are smart and patient. Sometimes, the new couple's uncle, father-in-law and so on will be brought in to play together. Therefore, as soon as the wedding reception is over, the couple's uncle and father-in-law often hide out of sight.

On the second day (or the third day) of the couple's wedding, the bride's family will send her brother-in-law to invite the bride and groom back to her family, commonly known as "please turn to her family" (or "visit", "please go back to the door" and "please go first"). The day after my brother-in-law ate "uncle's wine", he left her husband's house with a red cloth bag filled with various gifts. When the groom arrives at the woman's house, he will get a feast. After living in their parents' home for three days, the couple will return to their in-laws' home. When leaving the bride's family, the bride's family will ask the couple to bring back things like fruit cakes and distribute them to the neighbors together with the cooked egg noodles to thank them for their hard work at the wedding. At this point, the whole marriage process is basically over.