What do you mean Zanhua hangs red?

The engagement is fixed, the engagement is fixed. This sounds exciting, and it seems to mean that the good news is coming and the ceremony is not far away.

According to the average person's understanding, the "six rites" in the marriage custom have passed more than half now, so it is logical, and then it is time to arrange the marriage! Wait a minute, there is an old saying: "He who travels a hundred miles is half ninety." Although the road has gone more than half, the rest may be more difficult, which is also uncertain.

It was the custom in Chongqing in the old days that children had to wait for three to five years before they could get married. When both men and women are adults, both families are safe and everything goes well, they are ready to get married. After the man fixed the wedding date, he sent a red invitation to the matchmaker to inform the woman. This procedure is the "invitation meeting", which is also commonly known as "seeing the date" and reporting the date.

When the lady received the red invitation and gift book, her family was very happy. On the face, she still refused three times according to customs and rules. The first answer is: my daughter's family is still young; The second time, I said: it is impossible to get married; The third cloud: girls are reluctant to part with their parents. After three times, the woman's family finally agreed to send her daughter to get married on an auspicious day.

According to the old rules, when the bride's family receives the dowry "confirmed" by the man, it is necessary to start arranging the "marriage". The so-called "marriage" means dowry and wedding clothes. Some wedding dresses are measured and sewn by the tailor at home, and some are made by the girl herself. Living in a boudoir for a long time, staying indoors, knocking at the door of my heart in the spring outside the window, my daughter's family is looking forward to marrying a talented and promising young man. Although we have never met before, our dreams are beautiful. In the ancient poem, the girl who became a monk married herself, so she wrote:

Ignore my tortoise shell and decorate my bright moon.

Virtual window to Asahi, homemade wedding dress.

The wedding dress is ready, the wedding ceremony is decided, and there is still a procedure before marriage. This procedure is called "gift", commonly known as "accompanying childbirth". "dowry", the day before the wedding, the woman's family invited a sedan chair from the sedan chair shop to send the things that the girl needed to get married to the man's family. A well-off family, in order to show off the wealth of "accompanying students", sent a team of more than 100, which really envied its neighbors. The foreman of the sedan chair gang will send "escorts", deliver them according to the order, and get a lot of happy money from the man!

No matter how many, there are always single clothes, clips, leather clothes, cotton cloth, clothes of the four seasons, porcelain and tin ware, gold jewelry, the bedside and table of the daughter's house. These promises are necessary to get married and start a family, and they are also a response to the man's "promise" gift, so they are also called "gifts" or "return gifts".

Receiving a "return gift" indicates that the ceremony is approaching, and the man's family suddenly becomes lively. The night before the "wedding banquet", the man's house was brightly lit, red candles were lit in the class, and relatives and friends came to congratulate the groom's parents and groom. At this time, the groom put on the new clothes given by his parents, the hat and boots made by the woman's family, knelt respectfully in front of the ancestors' gods and parents, and relatives and friends pinned two golden flower pins on the groom's hat. Mr. Qingyin, the master of ceremonies, sang four or eight hymns. After the ceremony, the two sides slapped the table and fired until midnight. This process, commonly known as "hairpin flowers hanging red" and "drinking hairpin flowers and wine", is also called "flower night"

The next day, the wedding day finally arrived. On that day, the man prepared colorful sedan chairs early in the morning, and led the drum band and bunting team to the woman's house to celebrate the wedding under the guidance of the matchmaker. The bride's sedan chair is carried by four people, and four people change shifts; Drum band, consisting of a small drum, two gongs, four horns and a percussion drum; There are also four colorful flags, leading head-on, which is really lively.

The bride got into the sedan chair in tears and complained that she was reluctant to part with her parents. The sedan chair was left at the man's house and the groom came to pick it up. After the prologue of the custom of returning to the horse, the bride, with the help of the groom, went to nave to worship heaven and earth and the ancestral hall. Finally, the husband and wife paid homage to each other. This process is called "paying homage to the church". After all the ceremonies, the husband and wife entered the bridal chamber. To know each other's looks!

In the old society, marriage customs were complicated and superstitious. Under the guidance of matchmakers and fortune tellers, there have been many examples of handsome men marrying ugly women and beautiful women marrying "Luo Guo". "Arranged marriage" ruined the lives of many young men and women, and I don't know how many human tragedies have been created!