中国婚俗文化（2）
Chinese Marriage Customs
中国婚俗文化
China has a long history with various marriage customs in the vast land.In modem China，various traditional wedding customs and ceremonies were out of date. However,in recent years they have become more and more popular and attractive.
Wedding ceremonies have been considered an important life matter both home and abroad throughout human history．“Three Letters and Six Etiquettes”were the basic principles of traditional Chinese marriage customs in ancient times．
Three Letters include a Betrothal Letter，a Gift Letter and a Wedding Letter.The Betrothal Letter is the formal document of the engagement,a must for marriage when the bridegroom presents the betrothal gifts(engagement).The Gift Letter is delivered to the bride's family and is a document necessary before the wedding，in which will be enclosed lists of the types and quantifies of gifts for the wedding. The Wedding Letter refers to the document, which will be prepared and presented to the bride's family on the day of the wedding,to confirm and commemorate the formal acceptance of the bride into the bridegroom’s family.
The Six Etiquettes are namely: Proposing( A matchmaker discusses marriage with the potential bridegroom and bride), Birthday matching( the matchmaker will ask for the girl's birthday and birth—hour record to assure the compatibility of the potential bride and bridegroom)，presenting betrothal gifts (Once birthdays match，the bridegroom's family will then arrange the matchmaker to present the betrothal letter,to the bride's family)，the defining of an auspicious wedding day(the groom's family delivers appointment letter bride's side family) presenting wedding gifts(after the betrothal letter an betrothal gifts are
accepted，the bridegroom's family will later formally send wedding gifts to the bride's family enclosing the Gift Letter)，picking a wedding date(an astrologist or astrology book will be consulted to select an auspicious date to hold the wedding ceremony)，and the wedding ceremony (The bridegroom departures with a troop of escorts and musicians to escort the bride)．
结婚习俗The modern wedding ceremony generally refers to the activities which are held on the wedding day,but in ancient times “Three Letters and Six Etiquettes” included the marriage etiquette with a series of activities of matchmaking, engagement and the wedding ceremony．If the men and women did not follow the process，the marriage was then not acknowledged．In of these activities,wedding ceremony is the most over elaborate. It refers to the activity in which the bridegroom departures and escorts the bride to the bridegroom's home,the wedding ceremony begins．
The historical books record the earliest traditional Chinese wedding ceremony：On the early morning of the wedding day,the bride puts on the new outfit in a pair of red shoes aft
er a bath in grapefruit water,waiting for a lucky woman to comb her hair．The bride will put on Feng Guan(phoenix coronet) in red silk bridal veil and listen to a married woman who tells her how to
be a good wife，while waiting for her future husband．
The fun is that when the groom comes to the door of the bride's，the bridesmaids and her sisters try not to let him in!The purpose is to let the bridegroom experience difficulties to enter the door．Usually the groom can overcome the difficulties with his wisdom and courage and the help of his
friends．Then，the groom sings for the bride and finally he can see the bride，but the groom must offer red packages with money to the bridesmaids and the sisters to be allowed to take his bride home．The bride is accompanied into the sedan by a lucky woman．The bride's sister support a red umbrella,while another sprinkles some rice in the sedan with a metal mirror hanging behind．which people think it can protect the bride from evil spirits．The bride must cry while departing,showing her unwillingness to leave h
er parents．
People began to set off firecrackers to ward off evil spirits while the bride sitting into the sedan．And people will try to avoid unlucky things all the way：the curtain of the sedan was closely plastered in case the bride may see widows, well,cats which are considered as unlucky things．Firecrackers meet the bridegroom's team，the bride will walk a red cushion and pass a burning pan to yard off evil spirits before entering the groom's．
The wedding ceremony is the climax of the whole process．The bride and groom are shown into the ancestral temple．They first worship the heaven and earth,the ancestors and parents and then themselves,finally they enter the bridal chamber．An emcee narrates the story,accompanied by the wedding guests with applause and cheers．Friends and guests are entertained at a big wedding banquet．The newlyweds drink the cross-cupped wine，drink to thank the guests and get their blessings．
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