Dear Fellow Steemit friends:
Today, I have a special experience of a traditional wedding that I'm going to share with you. It's quite different to the Wedding I wrote about before.
In western weddings, the custom is for the bridges to spend the night at the hotel whilst the bridegroom will stay at home, away from the bride. It's the same custom in China, except we have an extra custom where the next morning the bridegroom goes to the brides hotel and escorts her back to the wedding.
It was really interesting and fun being a bridesmaid for my friend. Lets take a closer look and see what the activities are in a traditional wedding.
This wedding was held in Qinhuangdao, to travel there, I had to take the high speed rail (bullet train) from Beijing which takes 2 hours. Qinhuangdao is named after the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty--Qing Shi Huang. It is both a beautiful coastal city and an important foreign trade port in Northern China.
All pictures below other than those marked with sources are of my own photography
This is a beautifully decorated room for the Bride in Shangri-La Hotel
My room in Grand Hotel
The balcony in the hotel has a wonderful view of the sea
The mid-autumn festival is coming, down below, the evening view is ablaze with lights.
The next morning, I catch the sunrise by the sea and the activities start at 6am
The brides wardrobe is full of red attire. In China, red is the symbol of auspiciousness
1. In Halloween, there is “Trick or treats”. In traditional weddings, there is “Tricks or red packets”
This part is perhaps the most fun and happiest part of the whole procession. The bride stays in the hotel and await's her husband to escort her to the wedding.
To make it fun, we set up some tricks for the bridegroom and his groomsman. First, we block the door so the bridegroom and his groomsmen can't get in. They are left with the choice of accepting the tricks, or putting money into a red packet and passing them to the gate keepers -- the bridesmaids. So which would you choose? "Trick or Red Packet"?
This activity is a tradition that is meant to teach the bridegroom how difficult it is to marry the bride. This is supposed to make him understand the importance of treating his wife as a treasure his whole life.
The bride wears traditional clothes whilst she waits at the hotel---the phoenix coronet and the robes of rank.
in hotel.
The difference being a bridesmaids in western and Asian weddings.
In the west, bridesmaids may be expected to help the bride with her dress and perhaps pass the ring. However, in China, there are many more traditional rituals which the bridesmaid must be familiar with and willing to help with. These customs will usually be rehearsed beforehand too.
I have a talent to making tricks
As I was the main bridesmaid, I had to wake very early at 5 am to prepare some tricky games. I'll admit, my games were a little naughty.. it involved tricking the bridegroom and groomsmen to accept tricks because we pretended to be un-satisfied with their red packets.
Drinking juice of bitter melon with wasabi
Using only the mouth to find a candy in a bowl of melon seeds.
Using only the mouth to pass a chocolate bar.
After these tricks and games, the bridegroom can finally see her beautiful bride.
2. Serving tea to their elders
The Bride and Bridegroom must serve tea for their parents and parents in laws as well as start calling them mother and father.
3. Setting out to wedding lobby
Bridal sedan chair is the core of the traditional Chinese wedding. The bridal sedan chair team normally has tens of people, it is a grand sight.
This is a photo I took in a Folk Garden when I was travelling.
It normally has 4 or 8 people to lift the carriage, inside is a dragon and phoenix bridal sedan chair.
More and more people are beginning to choose the traditional Chinese wedding because it has retained customs and traditions and are often more personal. It's a lot of fun and it's financially cheaper. Even some foreign people are beginning have traditional weddings.
Source
This is my special memory of a traditional wedding, hope you like it, I would love to hear your thoughts!
关于之前婚礼的文章,我还有一个特别的故事。在国外的传统习俗里，婚礼开始之前新郎在家里准备，新娘在酒店化妆穿衣，互相不能见面。而中式婚礼在婚礼仪式之前有个独有的习俗---迎亲。我曾经为好朋友当过伴娘，今天就带大家去看看在中国，新郎要如何迎娶新娘？ 这一次我从北京来到了秦皇岛，坐动车2个小时就到了。秦皇岛因为秦始皇在此求仙得名，是美丽的沿海城市，也是中国北方重要的对外贸易口岸。新娘装扮漂亮的的酒店房间,这是我的酒店房间。酒店阳台上可以看到海，因为快要过中国的传统节日，中秋节了，夜晚楼下灯火辉煌，第二天，迎着朝阳的海。迎亲活动一般在凌晨6点就开始了。新娘的衣柜，在中国，红色代表幸运的颜色，所以新娘准备了很多件红裙子。 1.堵门闹亲这是整个婚礼活动里最热闹的部分。这个活动在传统习俗里是为了让新郎感受娶到新娘的不容易。从而在今后的日子里更加珍惜新娘。更是为了增加结婚热闹欢快的气氛。在国外做伴娘可能就是婚礼上陪伴新人走出来，顶多在交换戒指的时候递一下戒指。但是在国内，伴娘的任务有很多，有很多复杂的习俗，甚至需要提前彩排很多边。因为我是主要的伴娘，所以我不到凌晨5点就起床，开始准备恶作剧刁难新郎和伴郎。我们以红包给的不够多为借口要求他们接受接下来的恶作剧整蛊活动。在这些恶作剧之后，新郎终于可以见到新娘了。 2.敬茶/前往婚礼大厅新郎和新娘之后要跪拜父母，给父母端茶，改口叫妈妈爸爸。启程前往婚礼大厅花轿是传统中式婚礼的核心。一般的轿队有十几到几十人，非常壮观。 这是我在民俗园参观照相的照片，有4人抬和8人抬的，也分为龙轿和凤轿，现在越来越多的年轻人结婚选择回归传统的中式婚礼，因为很多小游戏让婚礼气氛变得喜庆和热闹，非常开心。甚至有一些外国友人也钟爱起中式婚礼。 看了这些照片，大家有没有觉得很有意思呢，希望你们喜欢我的文章，如果有什么想法可以提出我们一起讨论。
If you are interested in my other blogs related to Culture Exchange please check out these other blogs below^^
Romance in the eyes of Western and Asian People #1.Romance in the eyes of Western and Asian People #2.
The Anti-social way of Socializing in Asia.
Why you don't see Chinese girls wearing Bikini's at the beach?
Standing at the crossroads of different cultures: Relationships (Guan Xi)
Lost in Translation - Filial Piety
A primer to the etiquette of dining.
