What's the difference between Chinese and western weddings? Solve!

Comparison of Chinese and Western Weddings from the Cultural Perspective

Since ancient times, marriage has been the head of human relations. More importantly, through colorful marriage customs, people can understand the history of human society more clearly and explore the basic laws of the development of human society. With China's accession to the WTO, economic and cultural exchanges between China and western countries have become increasingly frequent, and cooperation and exchanges between China and the people of western countries have increased. This requirement is even more urgent. However, it is not enough to understand the culture and customs of western countries only in class, so we choose this topic as the research object to carry out the research on the culture and customs of western countries.

In almost every social culture, there is a custom of holding a wedding. It seems that human beings are born with such a need: to openly determine the relationship between husband and wife through weddings. However, the form of wedding is constantly changing with the progress of human society, but it is unchanged. Some difficult links are designed in all wedding customs.

There are great differences between China and the West in weddings. The traditional custom in China has the etiquette of "three books and six rites" and "three knocks and nine obeisances". "Five Rites" once said that since the later Qi Dynasty, regardless of the emperor and the common people, weddings are "one for receiving gifts, the other for honoring names, the third for receiving gifts, the fourth for receiving gifts, the fifth for inviting guests and the sixth for welcoming guests." This is the six stages of ancient wedding, commonly known as the "Six Rites".

The so-called six gifts are: (1) Nacai: This is the first stage of marriage proposal. After the man asked the media to propose marriage, the woman agreed to propose marriage, and the man prepared gifts for the woman's home. The gift is geese, and all geese must be alive. Why use geese? Wild goose is a migratory bird, symbolizing the meaning of yin and yang. Later, it came up with a new idea, saying that the geese lost their spouses and would never pair up for life to gain their loyalty. (2) Name-asking: A ceremony to ask the matchmaker about the date, month and name of the woman's birth after marriage proposal to prepare for marriage. (3) Najib: It is a ritual to inform the woman of the good news of marriage after asking the name. Also known as "subscription". This is the main ceremony at the engagement stage. In ancient customs, geese are used as a token of marriage as usual. Later, it was developed to use rings, jewelry, colored silk, gift cakes, gift candles, and even sheep and pigs, so it was also called sending or hiring. (4) Briding: After the engagement, the man sends the bride price to the woman's house, which is a ceremony at the wedding stage. This kind of wedding is also commonly known as the end of employment or big employment, big gifts and so on. Later, this ceremony also adopted the practice of returning gifts, returning part or all of the food in the dowry; Or after being hired, the wife will give the man a coat, hat, shoes and socks as a gift. The number of betrothal gifts and the names of items are auspicious and wishful, and the number is double taboo table. (5) Date of invitation: After the bride price is delivered, choose the wedding date, prepare the gift to the woman's home, and obtain the consent of the ceremony. Goose is used as usual in ancient customs, and gifts are generally simple. Bridal gifts are often combined with bride price, and the wedding date and gift money are decided at the same time. (6) Kissing: It is a ceremony for the newly married husband to greet his wife. This ceremony is often regarded as the main procedure of the wedding, while the first five items are regarded as transitional etiquette such as marriage negotiation and engagement. Some of these forms are out of the need of social relations, such as going to the woman's house to "make up makeup", going to the man's house to "make a face" and "make a wedding", all of which are rituals to establish social relations. This ceremony is purely a part of the wedding. Generally, sedan chairs are used, which are divided into double roofs or single roofs. The "daughter-in-law" who helps the bride get on the sedan chair and the "daughter-in-law" who accompanies the groom to the woman's house have their own requirements, such as getting off the sedan chair, returning to the horse, welcoming the sedan chair, offering a farewell ceremony to the heavens, entering the bridal chamber, etc ..... The wedding season is generally in spring, and the country is founded by agriculture, which coincides with the slack season and bumper harvest, just in time for marriage.

After the "Six Rites" of marriage, the bride entered the transition period and returned to her family's "mothering" until the bride entered the reproductive period, and the second generation held a fertility ceremony. From then on, the wedding is just a family celebration anniversary, which is celebrated according to the anniversary (a grand celebration ceremony with "flowers", called bigamy wine) and celebrated every year until the whole year.

Modern weddings are also influenced by western culture, and now many weddings are held in churches. Besides churches, weddings can also be held in shrines and temples. Considering the convenience of attending the wedding reception later, many people also hold weddings in wedding halls or hotels with banquet halls. There are simple shrines and worship rooms in wedding halls and hotels, which can adapt to various ceremonies. However, whatever the form, it is interesting that there is a link in which both parties exchange wedding rings.

The next ceremony is the wedding reception. Everyone had a lively dinner together, and the attendees congratulated the bride and groom. In addition, there are after-school activities. Banquets are divided into western, Chinese, Japanese and so on. No matter on which occasion, a considerable part of the content is luxury. Halfway through the banquet, the bride usually changes to 1-2 sets of clothes. For example, the bride in the "God's Front" wedding first wears a white kimono, and then puts on a colorful kimono, even a noble evening dress. Although the groom doesn't change clothes so often, he will also change when the bride changes from kimono to dress.

After the wedding reception, usually only the friends of the bride and groom attend, and the banquet is held without obstacles. This is called the "second meeting". After the wedding, most couples will embark on a wedding journey.

Western weddings are solemn, beautiful, romantic and unforgettable! According to the Bible, in ancient times, the evidence used by men to propose to women was the ring. In the ninth century, Pope Nicholas I issued a decree stipulating that it is an essential procedure for a man to present a wedding ring to a woman to formally propose marriage. The color of the bride's dress represents tradition and also has its specific meaning, for example, white represents pure virginity. The yellow dress chosen by American and British brides symbolizes love for God and wealth.

The custom of the bride wearing headdress on the wedding day has a long history. In ancient times, women wore garlands at marriageable age to distinguish them from married women and symbolize their chastity. At first, the veil worn by the bride was a symbol of youth and virginity, while the veil worn by the Catholic bride represented purity. Therefore, many brides choose to wear a double veil when they rush to the church for a wedding. After the bride's father gave her daughter to the groom, the groom lifted the veil himself. Flowers represent enthusiasm and return, and convey the message of prosperity, richness and Excellence. Those lucky enough to receive the bride's bouquet will have good luck and become the next person to tie the knot.

The bride usually stands to the left of the groom. This custom originated from the era when marriage robbery was prevalent. Afraid that the bride's family will take the bride back at the wedding, the groom must free his right hand to fight at any time. According to the custom, the wedding ends with the kiss of the couple. This kiss is full of profound meaning: through kissing, one person's breath and part of his soul remain on another person, and love makes them one.

The custom of carrying the bride into the bridal chamber evolved from the marriage customs of some indigenous tribes. Because there are too few single women in these tribes, men have to go to neighboring villages to take their relatives away, so as not to run away as soon as they touch the ground. Contemporary people believe that the bride can't walk into the door of the new house with her left foot, and it is best for the groom to carry the bride into the house.

When newlyweds drive to honeymoon, many cans will be tied to the back of the car. It originated from the ancient custom of throwing shoes. The wedding guests threw shoes at the couple. If a shoe hits the couple's favorite car, it will bring good luck. The motorcade behind the wedding car honked all the way to drive away the demons.