Western wedding culture

In western wedding culture, when it comes to wedding ceremony, we can easily think of the bride's dress (wedding dress), wedding dress (wedding dress), the groom carrying the bride across the threshold, the wedding ring on the ring finger of his left hand, and the bride standing on the groom's left with flowers in her hand.

The custom of bridal gowns can be traced back to the Victorian era. The wedding dress worn by the bride is related to "something old, something new, something borrowed and something white". Because the past is related to the bride's family and her past life. New things represent the bride's future happiness, good luck and success in her new life. Wearing borrowed things when getting married can bring good luck to marriage. This can be a wedding dress, a handkerchief and a piece of jewelry. White things are considered as a symbol of purity and loyalty.

There are two explanations about the custom of the bride wearing a wedding dress. First, in the era of arranged marriage, the groom should cover the bride's face before formally marrying her at the wedding, so that when the groom sees the bride clearly, even if he doesn't like her appearance, it is too late. Another explanation is that the bride wears a wedding dress to avoid being hurt by evil spirits wandering in the air on the wedding day.

The custom of the groom carrying the bride across the threshold originated in Roman times. At that time, people thought that it would bring bad luck if the bride stumbled when she entered the threshold of her new home on the first day, and such a thing could be avoided by holding the bride across the threshold.

It is generally believed that the custom of wearing a ring when getting married began in the 7th century. At the wedding ceremony at that time, the priest touched the index finger of his left hand in sequence and said, "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit", just touching the ring finger.

The bride's habit of carrying flowers originated in ancient times. People think that fragrant flowers or spices can drive away evil spirits, bad luck and diseases. In Victorian times, when lovers expressed their different feelings by sending flowers, flowers had more meanings. For example, apple blossoms represent "better things are coming"; Red roses stand for "I love you"; White roses represent "purity"; Don't forget me is "true love and memories".

As for the bride standing to the left of the groom, it is very interesting. In ancient times, it was common to rob the bride. While protecting the future bride with his left hand, the groom has to free his right hand and use his sword to defeat and drive away other people who want to take her as his wife.

Cultural differences between Chinese and western weddings

As an organic part of culture, wedding is also one of the most important ceremonies in a person's life. Influenced by different cultures in China and the West, different wedding customs are gradually presented, so these differences also clearly reflect the differences between Chinese and Western cultures. This paper aims to compare the differences between Chinese and western wedding venues, dresses, etiquette and wedding banquets.

Key words: wedding culture, location, costumes, wedding customs.

Wedding is a warm word, which opens a door to a happy marriage for lovers. The story of holding your hand and growing old with your son was written from this moment. Weddings are accompanied by various colorful wedding customs, which are caused by different cultural backgrounds. Now let's discuss the differences between Chinese and western cultures.

(A) the differences between Chinese and Western wedding venues

As one of the most important days in people's lives and a new starting point for a happy couple, the wedding of China people is grand and lively. In ancient times, people would hold banquets in their own homes or restaurants to entertain relatives and friends, as witnesses of newcomers. In contemporary China, newcomers usually invite relatives and friends to hotels or guesthouses. There will be a lot of ostentation and extravagance in the hotel, highlighting the characteristics of grand and lively wedding. In the west, people's weddings are usually held in churches or other quiet places, which are well organized and not as lively as weddings in China. Western weddings emphasize solemnity and sacredness, and pursue the combination of romance and reality.

(B) the differences between Chinese and Western wedding dresses

In China, the bride and groom wear red dresses at traditional weddings. China people's wedding is inseparable from red, and they are used to using bright colors to set off the atmosphere. Therefore, the color of women's wedding dresses in the past dynasties is big red, which has become customized to show celebration, set off new people and indicate prosperity and happiness in the future. The bride's dress is a wide-sleeved double-breasted dress with a beaded crest on her head. It is worth noting that Zhai Yi's model is very special. Duijin itself has a complete sense of symmetry. In China culture, it represents the meaning of symmetry and beauty. In the traditional culture of China, the symmetrical and paired golden pheasant patterns symbolize the beauty and harmony of husband and wife's life. Generally, the bride will tie a bun high on the wedding day, which is different from unmarried women. On the wedding day, the bride wears a red skull mask, which symbolizes virginity, youth and purity. After marriage, the groom will personally unveil the veil. Western brides wear white dresses. White has been a symbol of celebration since Roman times. From 1850 to 1900, white is also a symbol of wealth. At the beginning of this century, the pure meaning represented by white is far more than others. The west believes that white is related to virginity. The bride in ancient Rome wore a white wedding dress and a bright orange veil, symbolizing the flame of passion. In the western Catholic tradition, white represents happiness; In other areas, white represents various ceremonies and meanings in their weddings and funerals. In the Victorian era, most brides could only wear traditional national costumes, and only the upper class could wear white wedding dresses representing power and status. It was not until modern times that the privileges of the aristocratic class disappeared and the white wedding dress became the dress of ordinary brides.

(C) differences in marriage customs between Chinese and Western cultures

The traditional wedding customs in China are "three books and six rites" and "three worships and nine knocks". The so-called "three books" refer to the letter of appointment, the letter of gift and the letter of welcoming relatives. "Six gifts" refer to receiving gifts, asking names, Najib, receiving gifts, inviting parties and welcoming guests. There are a series of activities in the middle, such as changing the Geng spectrum, writing documents, giving gifts, going to bed and so on. There are a lot of taboos and customs in these activities, such as scissors, spittoon, ruler, candy, silver belt, vase, copper basin and shoes, dragon and phoenix quilt, a pair of sheets and pillows, two pairs of chopsticks and bowls tied with red rope, 72 sets of clothes, with cypress, lotus seeds, longan and lily. At the same time, weddings have a certain order. According to the general situation, during the whole wedding process, there are: ancestor worship, departure, setting off firecrackers, waiting for the groom, pleasing, saying goodbye, going out, car gifts, throwing fans, setting off firecrackers, touching oranges, holding the bride, wedding reception, seeing off guests, making trouble in the bridal chamber and going home three times. From this we can see the triviality of our culture, but don't think that triviality is the uniqueness of our wedding. In fact, although different countries have different wedding customs, from the complicated details and metaphors in the article, we can see that the respect and expectation for marriage have no borders. In western countries, there are old, new, borrowed and blue customs at weddings. Old refers to the wedding dress, headdress or jewelry handed down by mother, representing all beautiful things; New refers to gifts given by friends, such as skirts and ornaments, which symbolize a new life; Borrowing means that you can borrow things from anyone. It is said that you can borrow money or silver from rich relatives and friends and put it in your shoes to symbolize wealth. Blue means that some trinkets or bouquets of the bride are blue, which means the purity and chastity of the bride. There are also many customs of holding weddings in the west. For example, when getting married, the bride always carries a handkerchief. Westerners believe that white handkerchiefs symbolize good luck. According to folklore, farmers believe that the tears shed by the bride on the wedding day can make the sky drop dew and nourish crops. Later, the tears of the bride on the wedding day became a good sign that she would have a happy marriage. At weddings, the bride always stands on the groom's left. It is said that in ancient times, the Anglo-Saxon groom wanted to protect the bride from being taken away by others. At the wedding, the groom asked the bride to stand on her left. Once a rival in love appears, she can immediately wield a sword to scare off the enemy. When holding a wedding banquet, the wedding cake should be specially customized. According to historical records, since Roman times, at the end of the wedding, people will break a piece of bread on the bride's head-wheat symbolizes fertility and crumbs represent luck. Newcomers must use icing to make today's wedding cake. It can be seen that the marriage customs in the West are not simpler than those in China.

(D) The differences between Chinese and Western wedding connotations

Gao Wei, a famous folklorist, believes that many ceremonies of traditional marriage embody China's philosophical thought of "harmony between man and nature" and people's cultural and psychological things of praying for happiness. Because marriage in the traditional sense is not only related to both parties, but to two families and the whole society. It is necessary to embody the solemnity of marriage through a series of ceremonies and arouse the attention of the parties, relatives and friends to the marriage itself. Behind it lies the idea of the integration of heaven and earth. Inviting relatives and friends to prove that marriage itself is formal and solemn, not casual, which is combined with attaching importance to harmony between people. As a result of marriage, the two families formed an in-laws relationship. Rituals can reflect the status of parents in the family.

After the ceremony, the bride and groom should put the money, grain and inscriptions for worshipping God in the money and grain basin and take them to the yard for burning. With the rise of fire and paper ash, firecrackers and gongs and drums rang at this time, indicating that it has been recognized by "heaven".

People in China respect heaven, which is related to the production level of agricultural society. At that time, we must take the family as a link and form the principle of coexistence with nature. Therefore, only when heaven and man are integrated can people have ample food and clothing.

For another example, traditional weddings have many decorative objects, as well as language taboos and taboos of participants. Like the bride, the best man can't be a widow. This is not to worry that "unlucky" will affect the new couple as the popular explanation says, but because in the traditional concept, widowhood and loneliness just show a kind of disharmony and incompleteness, which is contrary to the original intention of praying for heaven and earth in the ceremony. So there is such a taboo.

The musical instruments used in traditional weddings also embody the idea of "harmony" and attach importance to "heaven". Gong, drum, suona and sheng are all loud, and the music at the wedding is not for literati to entertain themselves, but to express people's voices, let "Tian" know loudly, and reflect the solemnity of marriage itself. Participants can feel the purification of their souls in the noise of gongs and drums on all sides. People living between heaven and earth should be in harmony with both heaven and earth and people. China people's praying for good luck is a reflection of this social and cultural psychology.

In the west, this is a wedding in front of God. Seek eternity under the knowledge and protection of God, and respect the understanding and provisions of the doctrine of marriage according to God's agreement. Extending to commitment and the sanctity given to each other by each other's lives.

Religion has a deep-rooted control over people's thoughts, and it is not easy for religious people to dare to rebel and abandon the dogmas stipulated in various doctrines, especially the definition of marriage and the elaboration of doctrines, so that religious men and women can do whatever they say and dare not cross the line, because they are not only bound by the church family, but also come from the deep fear of God. Evidence can be found in the teachings and vows of the bride and groom at the wedding.

Marriage is a covenant, and a covenant means a union. The Bible says, "Therefore, people should leave their parents and join their wives, and they will become one." Jesus also taught us that "husband and wife are no longer two people, but one person, so what God cooperates with cannot be separated."