During my Chinese class today, we discussed how the color “white” is a symbol of death. The Chinese wear white at funerals while Americans wear black. Then, one girl asked if they wear white wedding dresses. The answer was no, they wear red because red is an extremely lucky color in China and is supposed to bring good fortune. When she said this, I tried to picture a Chinese wedding in my mind, however, I couldn’t. Turns out I knew nothing about Chinese weddings. So that’s what my post is about. Though, there is a huge difference between traditional weddings and modern weddings. In more modern weddings, younger brides choose their own husbands and tend to have American-styled ceremonies where they do, in fact, wear the big white fluffy dresses. I was more interested in extremely traditional type weddings, so here’s another list!

1. The Proposal: When the boy’s parents (not the boy himself) have found a suitable woman, they invite a matchmaker to come with them to the girls home to propose. If the girl’s parents accept, the matchmaker is rewarded with many gifts and food in order to show the families appreciation. The now engaged couple may not even know each other, and are often not allowed to see each other until the day of the wedding.
2.  Birthday: After knowing the girl’s full name, birth date, and hour of birth, the boy’s parents go to a fortune teller (suanming). This fortune teller predicts whether or not the couple will have a happy life, taking into account the Chinese Zodiac. If there was any astrological conflicts, the engagement is abandoned immediately.
3. Bride Gifts: If the suanming reading was good, the matchmaker takes gifts to the girl and her parents. Among these gifts is the betrothal letter, which is the formal announcement of the engagement.
4. Weddings Gifts: After the bride’s gifts are accepted, the groom’s family sends even more wedding gifts in a more formal manner. They usually include tea, red and green beans, dates, oranges, pomegranates, lilies  bridal cakes, coconuts, wine, etc. depending on the families wealth and local customs. This is to show respect for the brides family and also shows that the boy can provide for his soon-to-be wife.
5. Wedding Date: Selecting the perfect day is very important for a wedding. The boy’s family consults an astrologist to pick an auspicious day for the ceremony. This assures a good future for the couple and is important to avoid an unlucky day (anything with the number “4” is unlucky, for that word in Chinese is similar to the word for death).
6. The Ceremony: On the selected day, the bride and groom depart with a troop of escorts and musicians, playing cheerful music all the way to the bride’s home. After the bride is escorted to the bridegroom’s home, the wedding ceremony begins. At dawn on the wedding day, after a bath in water mixed with grapefruit juice, the bride puts on her new clothes and a pair of red shoes to await the so-called “good luck woman” to arrange her hair in the style of a married woman. The bride’s head would then be covered with a red silk veil with tassels or beaded strings that hang from the phoenix crown. She waits for her future husband to escort her home, as married women give her advice on how to be a good wife .In the meantime, the groom prepares himself to receive his wife. He dons a long gown, red shoes and a red silk sash with a silk ball on his chest. The groom then kneels at the ancestral altar as his father puts a cap decorated with cypress leaves on his head to declare his adulthood and family responsibility.Then the groom sets out to receive his bride. Usually a crowd of friends escort them, while musicians play joyful tunes during the entire trip.  The most interesting part of the reception takes place at the doorstep of the bride’s residence, which is heavily guarded by the bridesmaids or the bride’s sisters. It is customary for the bridesmaids to give the groom a hard time before he is allowed to enter the residence. The groom must rely on his own wisdom, courage and his friends to succeed in this “trial”. The bride must cry to show that she does not want to leave her parents. Firecrackers are set off to ward off evil spirits as the bride steps into a sedan chair.  A red mat is placed before the sedan chair so the bride will not touch the bare earth. By the threshold, a flaming stove and saddle will be set up for the bride to step over to avoid evil.The wedding ceremony is the focus of interest. The bride and groom are led to the family altar, where the couple pays respect to Heaven and Earth, the family ancestors, and parents. They then bow to each other and are led to the bridal chamber.