1、The differences of wedding customs among China and western countries,Wei Hongjiang,Introduction,For some people, marriage is the most solemn pledge we make in our lifetimes. To wed is both the most basic of all human pledges, and at the same time the most sublime. However, countries around the world

2、 own different wedding traditions. Taking Europe as an example, wedding traditions in Western Europe are as varied as the countries that make up the region from Ireland to Italy, from Portugal to Switzerland and everything in between, the wonderful, colorful wedding traditions of Western Europe span

3、 almost a quarter of our world. So, we should have a better understanding of other and our own culture by comparing the differences of them.,Auspicious occasion,In Chinese culture, when people decide to get married, the first important thing is to choose an auspicious occasion. It says Well began, h

4、alf done. Besides, the date of birth and the eight-characters of a horoscope (生辰八字) , play a very important role on day-choosing for the wedding. In the book called almanac(萬年歷), there are many traditions and taboos details result from ones date of birth and the eight-characters of a horoscope.,Ausp

5、icious occasion,In the western countries, people also pay much attention on deciding which day to be their best day in the life. Take England as an example, it is said that Monday means wealth and Tuesday brings health, while Saturday gives you bad luck; Wednesday is the best while Thursday and Frid

6、ay led to loss. Friday and the 13th day in a month are always neglected because they come down to the death of god. Furthermore, they dont get married during the Lenten fast(四月齋). According to the month, as the wedding rhymes says:” Marry in the month of May; youll surely rue the day.” So we can alm

7、ost never hear news of weddings in May. Then, which month is the most suitable one for weddings? It is June. In the legends of ancient times, June is named after the Roman nymph of love and marriage Juno(朱諾). Besides, English often take summer as the good choice because the sunshine brings harvest.,

8、Preparation,In China, foods like red jujubes(紅棗), peanuts, longan(桂圓) and seeds(瓜子) must appear in the wedding, since the metaphor that the new couple will have babies soon. Besides, other things include tea, foods, drinking, fruits, HongBao(紅包), wedding gown(婚紗), ring, jewelry and so on are also ne

9、cessary. Nowadays, another very important item is house. Certainly, not everyone in China can buy a new house now, however, it is also necessary to decorate it even it is only rent.,Preparation,After all, it is home Compared to China, western countries like America may have a better solution. The br

10、idegroom and bride will list the things they need for the wedding and tell their guests when they get the invitation cards. Then the guests may choose one or more as their gifts. It is useful to helps the bridegroom and bride to prepare for the wedding and save much time.,Dressing,Turn to the ancien

11、t China, roughs cuffs(下層民眾) usually only wear their better clothes while carriage trades(上層階級(jí)) always dress the very beautiful attire called phoenix coronet and robes of rank(鳳冠霞帔). At first, this kind of attire is only belonging to the nobles because the phoenix embroidered on it. In Chinese cultur

12、e, the Chinese dragon and phoenix are the symbol of the imperial power of authority.,Dressing,As time goes on, it becomes common among the rich as it also means wealth and auspicious. But brides will use the red veil to hid their faces before the wedding night. We can also find that European will we

13、ar veils (which are white) too. In the modern times, the main wedding attires are Tang suit and cheongsam(旗袍) if the new couple wants to hold a traditional wedding ceremony.,Dressing,The western wedding cultures have some special requirements about the brides dressing on the wedding ceremony. An anc

14、ient nursery rhyme about something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue is now an important part of most Western European weddings, even though many brides and grooms no longer know the significance of the rhyme.,Dressing,Something old is symbolic of continuity. The old item was of

15、ten a piece of lace or a grandmothers scarf or an old piece of jewelry. Something new signifies hope for the future, and can be anything from a piece of clothing to the wedding band itself. Something borrowed is symbolic of future happiness and is often provided by a happily married friend of the br

16、ide. And finally, something blue. In ancient times, blue was the color of purity and often both the bride and the groom wore a band of blue cloth around the bottom of their wedding attire.,Dressing,Furthermore, the white wedding gown is the most popular dressing among western people. Prior to the 16

17、th century, however, this most important Western European wedding tradition was not common. It wasnt until Anne of Brittany popularized the white wedding dress in 1499 that the tradition became part of Western European wedding culture. In England, up until the 1400s, the bride usually wore her best

18、dress regardless of the color. It was Queen Victoria (1840) who began the present day fashion of wearing white as the wedding dress.,Color,In China, red is symbol of luck, wealth, health, life and happiness, while white means death, sorrow, sadness and loss. Then Chinese will adorn everything red on

19、 a wedding ceremony.,Color,To the contrary, red in western countries usually means bleeding, fire, revenge and death. Besides, they take white as the symbol of virginity and purity so that everything the brides wear and everything appears on the wedding should be white. Sometimes, English and Americ

20、an choose yellow because it means Cupid.,Wedding ceremony,Wedding ceremonies in western countries always seem to be more romantic and solemn. On that day, the bride comes into the church companied by her father, taking some white flowers and wearing her wedding gown and veil. The bridegroom is in bl

21、ack suit, standing by the priest. Now the music called Wedding chorus is on. After the father gives the brides hand to the lucky man, the priest will announce the marriage statement:,Wedding ceremony,Will you take the woman (man) to be your lawful wedded wife (husband) to live together in the holy e

22、state of matrimony? Will you love her (him), cherish her (him), keep her (him), honor her (him) in sickness, in health, forsaking all others, and cleave only to her (him) so long as both shall live? If both of the bride and groom say “yes, I do”, the minister will allow they to change their rings an

23、d kiss each other. Then the minister pronounces them to be husband and wife and gives his blessing. Then the music change to bright melody called Wedding Overture.,Wedding ceremony,Traditional Chinese weddings procedures are more complicated. Firstly, when the groom goes to take the bride to the cer

24、emony, her family members or friends will set many challenges. For example, they may close the door until the groom gives some gifts called Hong Bao. Besides, they may hide the bride or her shoes and so on. All are done to show the attachment bond with the bride and make the man know how hard to get

25、 married with the bride so that he must cherish her.,Wedding ceremony,During the wedding ceremony day, Chinese will hold the Three-blows which we call Bai Tang(拜堂): One for the ancestors, one for the parents and one for each other. This is the first most exciting moment in the ceremony. And it is an

26、 epitome of the main stream value of Chinese culture. In traditional Chinese culture, the moral virtue plays a very important role in society and family life.,Wedding feast,People in China prefer lively atmosphere. In addition to the all-red arrangements they always set off firecrackers and play som

27、e traditional operas to inspire the spot atmosphere actively. Then the bride and groom will propose a toast for every guest one by one.,Wedding feast,However, the wedding feast in European and North America seem to be more formal, romantic, simple and economy. Furthermore, the forms of wedding feast

28、s are diversified include buffet dinner, dance party, formal wedding party and so on. It is mainly because their religion faith which thinks the marriage is holy, not only happy.,Activities: Wedding Night,In China, the most exciting thing in wedding is to tease the newlyweds on the wedding night. Du

29、ring this time, the good friends, brothers and sisters of the bride and the groom may come into their house and play games and jokes on the newlyweds, especially the bride. They may find many means to make the bride feel embarrassed while make all the others laugh enough. It may last until 1 or 2 am

30、 the next day. So the wedding night is the first challenge which needs to cooperate for the Chinese newlyweds.,Activities: Honeymoon,In Western culture, the custom of a newlywed couple going on a holiday together originated in early 19th century Great Britain, a concept borrowed from the Indian elit

31、es. Upper-class couples would take a bridal tour, sometimes accompanied by friends or family, to visit relatives that had not been able to attend the wedding. The practice soon spread to the European continent and was known as English-style voyage, in France from the 1820s on.,Activities: Honeymoon,

32、Honeymoons in the modern sense became widespread during the Belle poque(20世紀(jì)初), as one of the first instances of modern mass tourism. This came about in spite of initial disapproval by contemporary medical opinion, which worried about womens frail health, and by savoir vivre guidebooks, which deplored the pub