Traditions and Customs with Weddings and Funerals

4 min read

Red is central to the wedding theme of China.It signifies love,joy and prosperity and is used in a variety of ways in Chinese wedding traditions.The bride’s wedding down is often red. as are the wedding invitations,and wedding gift boxes or envelopes for cash gifts.Even the bride and groom’s homes are decorated in red on the wedding day.

Before her wedding celebration,a Chinese bride traditionally goes into seclusion with her closest friends.This Chinese custom gives the bride-to-be some time to svmbolicallv moum the loss of her friends and family.

Some time before the couple are married,the groom’s family carvy wedding gifts in red baskets and boxes to the bride’s house.One of the baskets will contain”uang susu”or”milk money”.Others will contain personal things for the bride,so that on her wedding day all of her personal belongings will be in the groom’s house.The bride takes the gifts to another.room where they are sorted through.Three days before the wedding day,women from the bride’s family reciprocate,bearing gifts -including some”returns”-in red wr: ppings to the groom’s family.

Wedding days in China are carefully chosen according to astrological signs.lt is also customary for couples to be married on the half-hour of their wedding day rather than at the top of the hour.In this way,the couple begins their new lives together on an “upswing”,while the hands of the clock are moving up,rather than down.

On the morning of his wedding day,the groom is synbolically dressed by his parents.The groom arrives at the house of his bride on the way to the wedding chapel.He brings gifts of cash. wrapped in red tissue,to give to his bride’s friends,in exchange for”letting her go”.In some families,the wedding couple serve tea to both sets of parents while kneeling in front of them,a symbolic gesture of asking for permission.The bride and groom then leave for the wedding site together.

The wedding ceremony is usually attended only by the couples’immediate families.Just after the ceremony and before the wedding reception,the bride who honors tradition will serve tea to her in-laws in a formal ceremony.The couple will usually go to a professional studio for wedding pictures before they proceed to their reception.

To a certain degree,Chinese funerals and burial customs are determined by the age of the deceased.the cause of death,the marital status and the deceased’s status and position in society. Burial of the dead is taken very seriously in Chinese culture.Improper arrangements are believed to incur ill fortune and disaster on the family of the deceased.

In many instances,funeral plans will begin while a person has taken gravely ill.The traditional Asian coffin will be ordered.While the style of the coffin has traditionally been rectangular with three “humps”.recent years has seen western style coffins being used in Chinese funerals.

On the passing away of the father,the eldest son becomes the head of the family.If the eldest son passes away,his second brother does not assume leadership of the family.Leadership passes to the eldest son of the eldest son(the grandson).He must assume the responsibilities and duties to the ancestors on behalf of the family.All statues of deities in the home are covered with red paper and all mirrors are removed.This is done in order not to be exposed to the body or coffin and to avoid seeing the reflection of the coffin in a mirror.It is believed that a death in one’s family would shortly occur if the reflection of the coffin is seen by an individual.A white cloth is hung over the doorway to the house and a gong is placed either to the left of the entrance if the deceased is a male,or to the right if the deceased is a female.

Before being placed in the coffin,the body is cleaned with a damp towel that has been sted with talcum powder,and dressed in the deceased’s best clothing.The color worn is usually white,black, brown or blue.They will never be dressed in the color red as this is lioved to turn the deceased into a ghost.All of the deceased’s other clothing will be burned to being placed inside the cofhn,the face of the deceased will be covered with a vellw loth and the body will be covered with a light blue cloth.