Chapter 188 Chinese Wedding
Lina took a deep breath, trying to calm her excitement, then she smiled, a happy smile that came from the bottom of her heart.

She responded softly, “Yang, I have always dreamed of starting a new chapter with my destined person in a place full of stories.”

“Xuanyunju is undoubtedly the perfect choice.”

The two smiled at each other without further words, and the air was filled with sweetness and tacit understanding.

They held hands, as if announcing to the world that no matter the weight of history or the differences in culture, nothing could stop two hearts from getting close to each other.

【This is a fairy-tale love story! 】

【I sincerely hope that they can grow old together and live happily ever after! 】

[Love has no borders, love has no distinction, this is the best proof! ]

Following their footsteps, they continued to stroll inside Xuanyunju. Every scene seemed to cheer for their decision, and every brick and tile told the story of the beauty that was about to happen.

Lina and Yang Xuan’s wedding was not only a union of two people, but also a bridge connecting different cultures and conveying love and peace.

However, their wedding was not held so soon, especially since Lina and Yang Xuan both wanted to hold a Chinese-style wedding.

The most important thing in a Chinese wedding is etiquette, which involves many steps, such as three books and six ceremonies, four betrothal gifts and five pieces of gold, an eight-man sedan chair, and a ten-mile red wedding dress.

The three books refer to the documents needed in a marriage, namely the engagement letter, the gift letter and the welcoming letter.

The six rituals are divided into six parts, namely: Nacai, Wenming, Naji, Nazheng, Qingqi and Qinying.

[Nacai] was the first step in a wedding in ancient times. If the man liked a girl, he would ask a matchmaker to propose marriage.

The gift of [goose] for marriage proposal represents that the woman will not lose time, will not lose chastity, will not cross paths, and will be faithful to her husband. Author: TT Tan – Animation
[Asking for the name] After the girl’s parents accept the proposal, they will give the girl’s year, month and day of birth (i.e. the eight characters of the year and the year) to the matchmaker. The matchmaker will write the bride’s eight characters, name, native place and three generations of information on a red paper (called “Gengtie”) and give it to the boy’s family for divination. The purpose is to prevent inbreeding and to predict whether the marriage is suitable, which is also called “clamping the eight characters”.

[Najib] is also known as [Guowending].

The man’s family will ask a fortune teller to calculate whether the man and woman are compatible with each other based on their birth years and horoscopes, in order to decide whether the marriage is auspicious.

If the man and woman’s horoscopes do not conflict with each other, the couple can bring a small gift to the woman’s family, present a letter of engagement, inform the woman’s family that the marriage can go ahead and discuss the terms of engagement.

Therefore, in the past, fortune tellers held the greatest authority over marriages, and the success or failure of a marriage depended entirely on his words. Some people called this ceremony “Xiao Ding”.

[Nazheng] is also known as Guodali.

It is the most complete and highly valued traditional etiquette among the Three Books and Six Rites. This action represents the man’s love and respect for the woman, and also shows his wealth and status.

This custom is still the most important wedding etiquette today.

The betrothal gift ceremony usually takes place one month to two weeks before the wedding. After the parents of the bride and groom have agreed on all the terms of the marriage, the groom’s family will send a betrothal gift (commonly known as a betrothal gift or a tea gift) to the bride’s family in accordance with the agreed terms.

On that day, the man’s family will invite two or four female relatives (they must be blessed with a husband, children, and the presence of parents-in-law and parents) to go to the woman’s house together with a matchmaker, bringing betrothal money, gift money and a large number of gifts.

The job of counting and receiving gifts must be done by the elders of the bride’s family.

The man’s family prepares a gift money and various gifts to send to the woman’s family as an engagement ceremony.

Usually, gifts such as gift cakes, gift money, and gifts are used as gifts, and the quantity should be even, that is, in pairs.

In addition to presenting the betrothal gifts, the man will also select two or three auspicious days and ask the woman’s family to decide the wedding date on the day of the betrothal gift. After the betrothal gifts are delivered, the female guests of the man’s family will open the gift box and select a few gold ornaments for the bride to wear, saying auspicious words, and then everyone will congratulate each other, and the betrothal gift ceremony is considered complete.

5. Asking for the date: It means that after the man’s family has chosen an auspicious day for the wedding, they will inform the woman of the date and ask for her consent, which is what we now call “sending the date”.

[Asking for a date] also means [selecting a date]. The man’s family asks a fortune teller to choose an auspicious date, a good day for the wedding, in the hope that the marriage will go smoothly and the two will live in harmony.

When an auspicious date is chosen, the girl’s family will be notified to prepare for their daughter’s marriage, which is called asking for the date.

Finally, welcoming the bride in person is the last procedure in the six wedding rituals. On the wedding day, the groom needs to personally marry his beloved bride to express his respect for her.

[Moving the Dowry] After receiving the gift, the bride’s family must send the dowry to the groom’s family at least one day before the wedding.

Dowry is a symbol of the status and wealth of the woman’s family.

In the past, Guangdong people liked to use camphor wood as dowry, as it represents durability.

Giving dowry can be divided into “sending dowry” and “receiving dowry”.

“Sending the dowry” means the bride’s family sends the dowry to the groom’s family. In addition to the people who carry the dowry, the bride’s family will ask several relatives and friends to accompany and take care of it. The more people there are, the richer the bride’s family is.

After the dowry is brought to the man’s house, the man’s family will invite relatives and friends to come out to welcome it, which is called “Yingzhuang”.

In addition to precious jewelry and gold ornaments, the dowry also includes many things that symbolize good omens.

He used a spittoon as a bucket for his offspring, hoping that his daughter would have many children and grandchildren.

Using a red ruler as a ruler for descendants means having thousands of acres of fertile fields;
The vase represents prosperity and prosperity;
The copper plate and shoes represent growing old together;
The silver-wrapped belt means having a lot of money around the waist;
The scissors have fingers and butterflies fly together;
A pair of dragon and phoenix quilt, bed sheet and pillow, wishing the newlyweds a loving and affectionate life;

A piece of candy is a metaphor for sweetness and happiness;
The dragon and phoenix bowls and chopsticks are used as food and clothing bowls, which means having enough food and clothing (a lucky envelope placed in the bowl can replace 72 sets of clothes as a dowry).

Ten miles of red makeup is an ancient traditional wedding custom. People often use “a thousand acres of fertile land and ten miles of red makeup” to describe the abundance of the dowry.

According to the old custom, the day before the wedding, except for the soft items such as bedding, clothes, shoes, jewelry, quilts and needlework items which were sent with the bridal sedan chair, the rest of the red box, from the bed to the thread board and spindle, were delivered to the groom’s house by porters and spread out by the bridesmaids, commonly known as “making the bed.”

But nowadays, most of the time men lay men’s clothes and women lay women’s clothes.

These will be prepared the day before the wedding and the bed will be made on the wedding day.

After the man’s family makes the bed, no one else can enter. The door of this room can only be opened after the groom brings the bride and the bride and groom sit on the bed.

At this point, only the bride reception has ended, and there will be a formal wedding ceremony afterwards.

What, jumping over the fire basin, crossing the threshold, serving tea, performing “wedding wine” and “hair-tying ceremony” etc.

After that, there is a banquet and toasts to thank relatives and friends for coming.

In short, there are so many things to do that it is impossible to hold a wedding in a hurry, especially a Chinese wedding.

Even if there is a big gift package given by the system, it won’t work.

At the very least, you should meet the parents of both parties first and formally inform them of the marriage.

(End of this chapter)