Wedding customs in Yinan, Linyi, Shandong

The entire marriage process generally includes several stages: proposal, engagement, and marriage. The specific wedding customs in Yinan, Linyi, Shandong are as follows:

1. Proposal

No matter what method of proposing marriage, the process of "looking at the partner" or "recognizing the bride" is added before the formal engagement. If the woman accepts a meeting gift from the man or his parents when "looking at the partner" or "recognizing the door", it means that she is willing to get engaged. The amount of the gifts varies, but gradually increases, from 101 yuan to 1,001 yuan, and some are 10,001 yuan, which means "choose one from a hundred", "choose one from a thousand" and "choose one from a thousand".

2. Engagement?

The engagement procedures in the county are simplified, and the original procedures of sending letters and dates are generally combined into one. On the day of engagement, the young man and his parents (sometimes also have introducers or relatives and friends) bring gifts and money to the woman's home. Gifts include famous cigarettes, famous wines, chickens, fish, gold and silver jewelry for the woman, etc. The amount of gift money varies. The woman hosted a banquet, and both parties reached an understanding of the relevant situation during the banquet.

3. Marriage

After the 1990s, the wedding fleet usually consisted of 6 or 8 vehicles. The vehicles were black or red. One of them was decorated with flowers and ribbons, and was led by the groom. When the bride is brought back to her home, all vehicles are decorated with red words like Double Happiness or "Happy Couple for a Hundred Years".

Weddings are usually held between 9 and 10 o'clock in the morning. The general procedure is to set off firecrackers and play music, announce the start of the ceremony, the witnesses speak, the groom and the bride bow to the officiant, witnesses and guests. After the speech, the ceremony is completed and the bride enters the bridal chamber.

After 2000, young people began to ask wedding companies to host their weddings. Wedding banquets are usually held in hotels or hotels, and parents of both parties, the groom, and the bride toast to the guests. Since the government strongly advocates changing customs and holding new wedding events, many units hold collective weddings, with leaders presiding over the wedding and celebrating at the same time, and the wedding is completed in one day.

As the income of urban and rural residents increases, the trend of wedding gifts becomes more and more popular, and the number increases year by year. Before the 1990s, gifts usually cost a few yuan, but later gradually increased to ten yuan, twenty yuan, thirty yuan, and even fifty or sixty yuan. By the late 1990s, it had risen to one to two hundred yuan.

Extended information

Customs related to childbirth in Yinan, Linyi, Shandong

Having a child in a family is called "Tianxi". If a boy is born, he will hang a red (cloth) cloth at the door of his house and tie a bow and arrow with a head of garlic, which means he can plan well; if he is a girl, he will only tie a red cloth with a head of garlic and a bow.

After the child is born, the man must "announce the good news" to the woman's natal family and inform relatives, friends and neighbors. The mother's family prepares gifts such as eggs, white flour, millet, brown sugar, children's clothes, and small quilts, and the newborn's uncle and other relatives choose a day to go and "twist" the child's head. But the hinge cannot ride on the moon (that is, it spans two months, referring to the lunar calendar). There is a folk saying that "you can't see your uncle without the hinge."

When cutting the child's head, his uncle used scissors to symbolically cut the child's hair, hands, feet, etc. "Sewing" the hands and feet was to prevent the child from having "cheeky hands" in the future. Relatives, friends and neighbors send eggs, brown sugar, children's clothes, etc. in front of the "hinge" to express their congratulations.

Yinan County People’s Government-Yinan County Etiquette and Customs