Ceremonies and customs in marriage

The Sui marriage customs have heavy color of tradition, which stress legal and formal marriage. Before marriage, young men and women can make friends and fall in love through antiphonal singing in festivals or going to market. Even if they pledge love through free courtship, they should get married legally and formally, or they would be discriminated. When they fall in love with each other, they should ask someone to tell heads of both families. If the head of the family agrees, the man's side asks matchmaker to send presents to the woman's side and settle betrothal, and members of the man's side choose a luck day and send people to carry piglets to the woman's home to "have informal wine". When in the formal meeting day, they carry pigs to the woman's home to "have formal wine". Songs of proposing toasts are sung in the feast. Once the hostess sings a song, the guests should drink a toast, and the great kindness of the host is expressed through getting the guests drunk. Family members of both sides don't join in the rite of meeting and sending bride. Except that the bride is carried by her brother to her husband's home in a few places, the rich-dressed bride usually holds a red umbrella which is tore a tear intentionally and walks ahead with best men, bridesmaids and people who carry dowry following her closely. The bride usually leave her parents' home at noon, and gets into her husband's home at six or seven in the evening, and she can't enter the house until the lucky time comes. Relatives of the bridegroom go out to withdraw before the bride reaches, and they can't return home until the bride enters the house. At the night of the wedding, the bride sleeps with bridesmaid and she goes back to live in her parents' home the next day. After the wedding is finished, the bridegroom goes to meet the bride and they begin life of man and wife. Some brides stay at parents' home for one or two months when they go back for first time after wedding, which is called "staying home" and is actually remains of the marriage custom---"not settling down in the husband's home". Thundering and change of weather are avoided ad taboo when the bride is on the way to the wedding, so the wedding is held in autumn.

Women's traditional dress <<
"Borrowing Duan" and "Spending Mao" >>