In the old days, the wedding ceremony evolved from the ancient "six rites" (one Nacai, two names, three Naji, four Nazheng, five invitations, and six greetings).

Propose

The marriage of men and women, according to the order of the parents, after the matchmaker's matchmaking, believes that the door is right, and the exchange of "Geng stickers" (age, birthday) is pressed on the bottom of the teacup in front of the statue of the god of the stove to measure the will of the gods. If there are no "abnormal" situations such as broken bowls, bad food, noisy family members, and uneasy cats and dogs at home within three days, please ask the fortune teller to "row the eight characters" to see if the Nian Geng is compatible and whether the zodiac is compatible. In the old days, some people were superstitious about the so-called six-year big rush and three-year small rush; Men marry at a double age, and women do not marry at nineteen; It is said that chickens and dogs (chickens and dogs are not in harmony), dragons and tigers (dragons and tigers fight), tigers and sheep (sheep fall into the tiger's mouth), snakes and rats (snakes and rats) are difficult to match.

engagement

Before the marriage, the relatives were discussed, and the "small gifts" were discussed at the beginning of the marriage, and they bargained in the era of buying and selling marriages. Generally, "four magenta" or "six magenta" (four to six pieces of satin clothing), two gold rings, and a pair of gold earrings; Dowry gifts, 36 small gifts, 64 medium gifts, 120 (silver yuan) gifts; Food, the number of "sixty-four", that is, Baotou 64 pairs, 64 oil packets, 64 sesame cakes, etc., there are still 2 to 8 quintals of old wine, so Shengnan has the name of "old wine". After the marriage, the man carried the above-mentioned gifts to the woman in a bar box. The woman's return gifts are mostly gold balls, oil bags and embroidery made by the girl. Confirmation certificate, the man sends a "book", commonly known as "red and green book paper" (two layers of paper red outside and green inside), and the woman sends a "return post" for recognition, commonly known as "Wending". Therefore, in the old days, husbands and wives quarreled, and my wife often said that I had "red and green paper" to restrain my husband. Following the "Wending", the auspicious day is selected to marry, and the "good day" is chosen by the day shop. Relatives and friends give gifts, weddings are mostly cash, or wedding banners, happy shafts, and the book is "a hundred years of good together, five generations of its prosperity", "a match made in heaven" and so on. Wedding gifts are mostly embroidered or satin quilts, quilts or daily utensils, and there are also red dates, peanuts, longan, and lotus seeds, which means "early birth of a noble son". In the old days, there was a custom that matchmakers could not drink tea when they entered the door for the first time, which was called "matchmakers do not drink tea", saying that drinking tea would dilute the marriage. It is also known as the matchmaker as the "matchmaker hundred cupboards", the matchmaker can eat "a hundred meals", and he will be rewarded with "thank the matchmaker", but after marriage, if the husband and wife are not in harmony or the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are not harmonious, the matchmaker has the responsibility to mediate.

get married

Please eat and drink and welcome your relatives on a day called a "good day". As the saying goes, "please eat wine, worship life", the groom holds the red paper "Zhi" before the good day, and invites the elders and friends to eat the wedding wine (good day wine), and the elders should write the word "know" under their names. Before the good day, the custom of waiting for the husband and to be married, the parents of both sides invited their sons and daughters to eat buns, cockles, elbows, chestnuts, and lotus seeds, and asked for the "five sons to Dengke" color head. Three or five days before the good day, the man sends the woman a "sedan chair", which is generally 2 geese, 2 meat sides, 2 fish, etc. Watching the dowry man go to the woman to move the dowry (dowry), the woman puts the dowry in the hall and let people watch, which is called "looking at the dowry". The utensils are draped with red threads, the clothes are scented with sandalwood, and several silver dollars are placed at the bottom of the box, commonly known as "pressing the box money". The dowry is moved to the man and displayed in the hall for people to see, also called "watching the dowry". The grandmother takes the woman's key bag and takes the key to open the box, commonly known as "digging the box". The day before the best man greets the bride, the man wants to "make a bed", and a "Quanfu" woman takes 24 pairs of chopsticks to tie the red thread and places it under the groom's mat, which is called "making a bed". For one to three nights before the marriage, a boy with both parents sleeps with the groom and sleeps in the bed, called "best man". At night, I want to give this little girl buns, peanuts, and eggs, which means "Bao Shengzi", and when he leaves in the morning of the "good day", he should give a red envelope, commonly known as "taking out the urine bottle". One or two days before enjoying the first good day, the male family gets the sedan chair and wedding utensils from the sedan chair shop to the utensils shop, hangs the lanterns and colors, and entertains the guests with the above feasts, which is called "light rice". On a good day, at the time of the fifth watch, the male family offers the "Heaven and Earth Monarch Teacher" in the hall with a full set of pigs and sheep or five animal blessings and fruits, commonly known as "enjoying the first". For breakfast, I want to eat "Xiangxian soup fruit". Sitting in a sedan chair, Ningbo girls get married and sit in a sedan chair. Legend has it that the well-off king of the Southern Song Dynasty (Gaozong) fled to Mingzhou, the Jin soldiers chased after him, and a woman was rescued by Lai, and then he could not find his daughter, and the woman of Zhaomingzhou could enjoy half a pair of Luan driving treatment when she got married, and sat in a sedan chair. The sedan chair, commonly known as the "big red sedan chair", is carried by four people and eight people. On the wedding day, the sedan chair goes out to provide the "sedan chair god" with clean tea and four-color pastries. Guns and artillery battles were fired, and the red lanterns opened the way, blowing and blowing along the way. The groom does not go to his father-in-law's house to greet his relatives, and takes the bride (sending the mother) as a messenger and goes with his name sticker. The bride of the open noodle family uses five-color cotton yarn to wring the hair on the face of the bride's family, commonly known as "open noodles" (containing the current beauty meaning), and the guests are happy to eat "open noodle soup fruit". The sedan chair is at the door, and the female family fires a cannon to welcome the sedan chair, and then covers the door to "block the sedan door", and starts to open after stuffing the red envelope. The sedan chair is parked and the door of the sedan car is facing outward, and someone in the female family burns a red candle and holds a mirror, and takes a look into the sedan chair, which is said to expel the unjust ghosts hiding in the sedan chair, and is called "searching the sedan chair". The women's family is the main banquet wine at noon, commonly known as "open noodle wine", also known as "wedding wine". Before the bride gets on the sedan chair, the bride of the man is urged to make up three times, pretending not to marry, lazy to make up (of course, there are feudal marriages that do not want to make), and then sit on the mother's lap, the mother feeds the sedan chair for her daughter, implying not to forget the grace of nursing. There are three different customs: first, "crying on the sedan chair". The daughter got on the sedan chair, and the mother cried and sent off, and the crying words were mostly blessings and exhortations, including: "Ah, ah, nong can be lifted, and the baking sound!" Nong is going alone, leading the tide!" Nong respects her in-laws, respects her blessings, respects her husband and has something to eat", etc., the bride was moved by tears and said goodbye. Second, "hug the sedan chair". The bride is carried into the sedan chair by her brother, and after entering the sedan chair and sitting down, her buttocks cannot move casually, so that she is safe and stable. Third, "pour fire and ashes". Under the bridal seat, a fire with charcoal fire and spices is put down, and a mat is tied on the rear sedan bar of the sedan chair, which is commonly known as "fire in the sedan chair, mat behind the sedan chair". When the sedan chair is raised, the female family fires a cannon and sprinkles the top of the sedan chair with tea leaves and rice grains. The bride's brother travels with the sedan chair, which is called "sending the sedan chair". The sedan chair in the urban area should go around to Chitose Fang or Sanfaqing (place name) and other places to ask for "Chitose" and "Sanfa" color heads. The brother will return halfway, and he will come back with light ashes, light incense or cigarettes from the fire, and put them in the fire tank when he returns home, commonly known as "pouring fire ashes", also known as "receiving fire". The sedan chair in the chapel enters the door, and the male family plays music to welcome the sedan chair. After the sedan car is stopped, the door of the sedan car is unloaded, and a young girl with five or six years of makeup (commonly known as the "sedan chair lady") welcomes the bride out of the sedan chair, and pulls the bride's sleeves three times with her hand to start the sedan chair. The bride stepped out of the sedan chair door and stepped over a vermilion lacquered wooden "saddle", stepping red felt, and standing on the right side of the wedding hall with the help of the bride. At that time, the groom heard the sedan chair enter the door, that is, he pretended to hide elsewhere, and the bouquet of flowers and candles was invited (found) back, standing on the left side. The decoration of the wedding hall is the same as that of various places, but the worship ceremony is slightly different, with the main incense father-in-law, mostly held by the groom's grandfather or grandfather. The officiant, the bridegroom, and the bride and groom all perform the salutation. The salute shouts: Go to the temple and pay tribute, play music! Kneel in front of the incense case, all kneel! Incense, two incense, three incense! Prostrate, prostrate, prostrate! The salutant then sings: Ascend, flatten, reset! Kneel, all crispy! Singing: Rise, worship! L, Bye! L, Bye! Sing again: Kneel, all crisp, read the blessing! It is read by a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy kneeling on the right side of the Buddha worship stool (read it well in advance, and cannot be misread). And the salute sings: Rise, worship! L, Bye! L, Bye! The whole process is collectively called "three kneeling, nine prostrations, and six prostrations". At the end, the salute is sung: After the salute, quit the class, and send it to the cave room! In the meantime, when the bride and groom are in the church, there is a custom of kneeling in front of the head, saying that whoever kneels in front can control the latter in the future, resulting in a joke that the groom brushes his sleeves and refuses to bow while worshipping.

After the elaborate worship ceremony, two young women holding dragon and phoenix candles guide the way, and the groom holds a colorful ball ribbon to lead the bride into the cave room. Feet must step on the sack to walk, generally 5, there are 10 sacks, walk through one, the bride and so on passed in front of the paving in the road, which means "inheritance", "five generations meet". After entering the cave room, sit on the edge of the bed according to the left and right of the man, called "sitting on the bed", and a Fushou Shuangquan woman knocks the bride's head slightly with a weighing rod, and then picks up the "cover canopy", which means "satisfactory", which means "please scarf". The groom sits down and comes out, the bride changes her makeup, and the guests eat "makeup soup fruit". Then, the bridegroom and the bride performed a "greeting ceremony", talking about relatives and relatives, and the generations knelt down to meet in order, called "seeing the size". When the worship is played, two large seats are placed in the hall, and the worshipper and his wife sit together, and if one is deceased, they also sit according to the left and right of the man and the woman, and the other is empty. Worship the bride with a red envelope, commonly known as "meeting money". The in-laws don't take out red envelopes, they are called "daughters-in-law's own family". When the bride meets her peers, the bride also gives "meeting money" when the juniors meet. After that, the "waiting feast" is held, the bride sits in the chief, and 4 women accompany the banquet to persuade food, and the bride does not really eat. After the feast, the bride accompanies the bride to the kitchen to carry out the "pro-circumcision", and there are customs such as fishing for vermicelli and touching loaches, which is called the upper kitchen. In the evening of the He Lang wine worship hall, the male family is feasting wine for a good day, called "He Lang wine", and the bride must pour wine for the elders and guests one by one, and the wine must be poured full and not flowed out. The wine is red, the dishes are many mandarin ducks, and the music is played by a hundred birds and phoenixes, and the dragon and phoenix are auspicious. During the banquet, when the bride was serving hot dishes (changing the soup), the bride shouted: The bride is changing the soup (changing the makeup)! After the banquet, the Xijia family invites the blessed and virtuous guests to the cave room, and performs the "three drinks and easy to drink" ceremony to the groom and bride, and exchanges wine glasses with each other every time they enter the wine (the newlyweds only take a sip). The main congratulator must sing the words of the greeting man, banter, and peace, such as: the first cup of wine to congratulate the groom, what gossip is told, I am afraid that people will listen to the room. The second cup of wine congratulates the groom, and the affairs in the room are secretly discussed, beware of others coming to Zhang (see). The third cup of wine congratulates the groom, wishing the husband and wife to grow old together and give birth to a noble son as soon as possible. It was night, there was a custom of noisy new houses, and the proverb said: "There is no size in three days". On the day of marriage, the bride did not talk to the guests much, and when the room was arguing, the bride first opened her mouth, looked at the buttons of her clothes, and the five buttons said that it was "five sons Dengke", and looked at her foot and head, saying that it was to see the old birthday star. The noise began to disperse until midnight. The groom sends off the guests with the bride, the bride starts to spread the bedding, the bride is rewarded with a red envelope, and the bride is not enough to pretend not to leave, and only after the increase. The bride closes the door, and the newlyweds eat "bedside fruit" together. When the groom goes to bed, the bride "sits on the flower candle", the flower candle cannot be blown out, and the candle can go to bed at the end of the candle. There are still people who do a good job during the day, pry the door and jump out of the window to enter the new house at night to remove the groom's clothes, and the quarrel is successful, and the newlyweds will be fined candy and cigarette money.

After getting married

When the bridegroom gets up the next day, the groom must open the door. On that day, the man prepared a sedan chair to invite his uncle, and after receiving three refreshments, the uncle retreated to his sister's new house to rest. At the luncheon, ask the uncle to sit in the chief, saying that he will "drink pro-wine", and avoid using hairy crabs (my uncle is called hairy crabs). After the banquet, the groom is picked up in a sedan chair to accompany the bride back to her parents' house, called "returning to the door". Send a load of "Wangniang Pan" with the sedan car. The parents-in-law's family banquet "son-in-law" should avoid using rock sugar soft-shelled turtle. After the banquet returns, the bride out of the sedan door, the guests in advance with twenty or thirty benches from the front of the sedan car to the new door, set up a "fairy bridge", to the groom to support the bride from the "bridge", the guests laugh and urge, if the pace is steady, then in front of the new house "bridge" stool stacked on the bench, and hand over an oil bag, to the bride mouth bite the oil bag to walk through, the beautiful name is "carp jumping dragon gate". On the third day, "three days into the kitchen, wash your hands and make soup", the bride cooks, boils sugar noodles and distributes them to the neighbors. The full moon plate is the first month of the newlyweds, and the parents-in-law send someone to give a gift, which is called the "full moon plate". A number of gift certificates were also given, ranging in amount, for the son-in-law's family to reward the marriage staff, commonly known as "flower smile tickets". In the old days, there was a huge disparity between the rich and the poor, and the above mentioned were rich and middle-class families. As for the poor family, they cut out the word double happiness with cardboard, pasted it with gold paper, hung it on the wall, a pair of flower candles, and a crappy sedan chair, and then went to the church to get married.