What are the folk customs of Xinxiang wedding?

Before the founding of New China, there was a custom of early marriage in Xinxiang. The age of marriage for men was generally 15 to 2 years old, and that for women was generally 15 to 18 years old. Marriage between men and women must follow the orders of parents and the words of matchmakers. There are many red tape in the process of marriage. Discussion on marriage: when discussing marriage for the first time, parents first entrust the matchmaker, through whom they can get to know each other's zodiac signs, and see the combination of their zodiac signs according to the superstition of Yin and Yang. The animal signs of aggression are chicken and dog, dragon and tiger, etc. The most suitable animal sign is dragon and rabbit, which is called "the dragon pesters the rabbit and the generation is rich". The woman can be two or three years older than the man, but not one year older. As the folk saying goes, "the wife is a senior, and gold is long", "the wife is a junior, and she is a senior official", and "the female freshman has no food". Blind date: after asking about each other's family, blind date. The two sides agreed on the date of blind date, and the woman was guided by the matchmaker and went with the accompanying person to meet the man at the place designated by the man or the matchmaker, and the matchmaker introduced the situation of both sides face to face. After the visit, the man gave the woman a gift. If both parties are satisfied, it is the initial engagement. Engagement: On the auspicious day, the man's parents agree on the date of marriage and inform their relatives and friends. New sets: new bedding and pillows for both women must be sewn by women with both children and couples. Before sewing, my mother-in-law grabs three handfuls of cotton and spreads them out. Then, she grabs some peanuts, red dates and walnuts and sews them into the bedding, which means "early birth". Box pressing: On the day before the bride's wedding, the bride's sister-in-law or sister put the bride's wedding dress in a box and put money on it. After the bride arrives at her mother-in-law's house, her mother-in-law should put money in this box, and it is more than the money in the box. On the day before marriage or the morning of the same day, the woman or brother will insert a cypress branch into the dowry of her family and send it to the man's home, which means evergreen. After the dowry is delivered, the man's family treats him with a banquet, and the accompanying guests ask the dowry giver for the key to open the box, and seal the money to the key holder, and the other party will hand over the key only after he is satisfied. Wedding: Two days before the wedding, the man sent a communication box to the bride, containing clothes for makeup and sedan chair (clothes must be paired) and jewelry, plus a bottle of wine, a piece of meat, and a liter of rice and noodles. The day before the wedding, the man arranged the bridal chamber, and the groom's younger brother pressed the bed that night, and was allowed to pee on the new bed. On the wedding day, the man prepares four sedan chairs, one for the groom, one for the bride, one for the wedding guests and one for the children. Greeting ceremony: The usher guides the groom into the bride's house, and at every door, guides the groom to pay homage to the guests. The bride's house must give the groom and the usher a bowl of jiaozi soup and play the music three times before the bride can get on the sedan chair. Getting on the sedan chair: the bride must wear blue shoes when getting on the sedan chair, and these shoes are not allowed to be worn back to her family. Before getting on the sedan chair, her mother gave her daughter money to leave her mother, and gave the marriage certificate to the bride, who took it to her husband's house and pressed it on the bed to show that the two families were safe. Getting on the sedan chair is divided into big marriage and small marriage. In the big wedding, the bride gets on the sedan chair without stepping on the ground, and is carried by four people in a chair. In a small marriage, the bride steps into the sedan chair and the top of the sedan chair rises greatly. If you encounter a sedan chair on the way, you must get off the sedan chair and play music before you can go again. Getting off the sedan chair: Before getting off the sedan chair, the bride should comb her hair and say, "One combs gold, two combs silver, and three combs mules and horses run in groups." The husband-in-law's family must also give the bride a sedan chair gift, and then a helper will help her get off the sedan chair. In the event of a blind year (that is, there is no "beginning of spring" in the middle of the year), the bride must walk forward with a lighting object when she gets off the sedan chair to show that she will have children in the blind year. After the bride gets off the sedan chair, her feet are not allowed to land. She must spread a blue cloth from the sedan chair door to Tiandi Hall. The bride walks to the Tiandi table with blue cloth on her feet, and the man sprinkles grass on her body. Worship heaven and earth: Worship heaven and earth is the wedding ceremony. Put a bucket full of grain on the table of heaven and earth, seal it with red paper, put a red candle on each side, and put some fruit plates in front of the bucket. Spread a red carpet or mat in front of the table, put flowers in front of the mat, and put a saddle in front of the flowers. The bride should step over the saddle and touch the flowers, which is called "riding a saddle and touching the flowers" to show that her family is safe and has more than enough. Then the bride and groom stand in front of the table of heaven and earth, facing the gods of heaven and earth, worshipping heaven and earth, worshipping their parents, and then the husband and wife worship each other. Entering the bridal chamber: After paying homage to heaven and earth, the bride enters the bridal chamber, where her sister-in-law carries the washbasin and puts a bun and a coin in the water. The bride must take out the bun and throw it under the bed, and then her sister-in-law sends the water away. Then, her sister-in-law sent the cooked jiaozi to the bridal chamber and let the bride squeeze it out with chopsticks for the groom to eat. Banquet: The family held a banquet to entertain the guests. When the banquet was held, the man accompanied the guests to lead the way, and the gift giver accompanied the groom to see the dishes before the woman saw them off. The man accompanied the guests and shouted, "The groom sees the dishes!" The woman's elder replied: "Save trouble for three times." Then the ceremony was introduced and the groom bowed three times. After the woman's farewell dinner is over, the escort will lead the way. The elder of the groom holds the wine tray in his hand and says, "The wine is cold and the banquet is clear. Please take care of your in-laws." The other party replied: "I am full of wine and food, and my in-laws are very good." The groom's elders said to him, "You should taste the wine first, and I will marry my daughter-in-law and your family will be busy." The other party replied: "Everyone is busy! Busy! " This set of etiquette is commonly known as "An Da Zhong". See the bride: the bride's farewell will be to see the bride before returning from the banquet to show comfort. After seeing the guests off, the domestic guests (relatives and friends of the groom) and the guests sitting at the bottom (elders of our family) gather, and the bride worships and kowtows one by one, and the worshippers pay the money for the worship. Make trouble in the bridal chamber: the younger generation or peers of the groom enter the bridal chamber to play with the new couple until late at night. Wedding lights: On the wedding night, put a table on the bed and burn two red candles, commonly known as "wedding lights". One for the groom and one for the bride, whose wedding lamp burns for a long time indicates who has a long life. Back to the door: On the ninth day of the wedding, the bride's brother will take her home for a few days, commonly known as "Jiujiu". After the founding of New China, the government promulgated the Marriage Law, abolishing the old arranged marriage, and implementing equality between men and women and autonomy in marriage. However, it is generally necessary to hold a wedding ceremony on holidays or on the third, sixth and ninth days of the lunar calendar. In the wedding management, some still retain the traditional colors such as meeting gifts, dressing new clothes, giving dowry, pressing money, banquets, and making trouble in the bridal chamber, but it is much simpler than in the old days.