What are the marriage customs of ancient people?

China is a country of etiquette, and of course etiquette is indispensable for such a big thing as getting married. The wedding of Han nationality begins with seeking relatives, including seeking relatives, engagement and marriage (wedding). In fact, our ordinary people's weddings are similar. The more refined we are, the closer we are to our ancestors.

The first is to ask relatives. Ancient times paid attention to the words of parents' matchmakers. First of all, the man's parents find a matchmaker, introduce the situation to the matchmaker, put forward the search requirements, give the matchmaker a bride price and show their dowry ability. In ancient times, matchmakers were all professional, and introduced the man to the woman's home according to his situation. If the woman's parents agree, the man will go to the woman's house for a blind date. Both parties are represented by their parents, but in some areas, girls are allowed to hide in one place and secretly observe the man's situation. For example, buildings in Anhui are generally surrounded by a yard and a small building. The man came in and the woman stood upstairs to watch (it is estimated that only the father can guess the son). The building has a high wall, which can't be seen by the people below. Tell your parents if you like it. So, in fact, in ancient China, only two people knew that blind marriage was not completely dissolved. After all, every parent wants his daughter to have a good life in the future.

If both parties feel that the door is right and the conditions are right, the two families will give each other engagement tokens (some places are Yu Pei, and some places are geese). Interestingly, in some places, if the woman takes a fancy to the man who will give him a cup of tea, if the man is satisfied with the tea, he will put some tea money (which must be even) on the table, and the marriage will be settled.

Next is the engagement. The two sides exchanged eight characters and gave each other Geng stickers with names, eight characters, ages and so on. If the eight characters don't match, start collecting relatives.

"Marriage" means that the two sides express mutual acceptance, and the man chooses the auspicious day of 15 to give the bride price, hairpin and marriage certificate to the woman 20 days before marriage, which is called a big gift.

A few days before the wedding, the wedding bed was put in the right place by a recognized good woman. And this person makes the bed, sheets, dragons and phoenixes the day before the wedding. Then sprinkle all kinds of auspicious fruits (red dates and peanuts: early birth, longan: perfection, litchi beans, etc. This is the "comfortable bed". After the bed is installed, no one can enter the new house and touch the new bed.

This is the man. The woman should prepare a dowry. The dowry will be taken with the girl on the wedding day. In ancient times, dowry was a symbol of a woman's maiden status and wealth. Women with insufficient dowry are likely to be bullied in their husband's family. On the contrary, it can help them establish their position in his family. There are still many novel descriptions in this respect. For example, in A Dream of Red Mansions, when Wang Xifeng and Mrs. Wang (his aunt) married Jia Fu, they often used his dowry to suppress Jia Lian, and the effect was always good.

Finally, I arrived at the last ceremony. This is what we call a wedding. Oh! It seems easy for modern people.

The first is the wedding reception. Ancient weddings were held at night. This is not quite the same as a modern wedding. It seems that a modern wedding must bring the bride before noon and go to the evening to get married. The groom should worship his ancestors before going out, and the bride should dress herself up and cover it with a red hijab. After the groom arrives, the bride is taken out of the boudoir by her sister or maid of honor, handed over to her father, and then handed over to the groom. After the couple said goodbye to their parents-in-law, the bride got into the sedan chair and was escorted to the man's house by the groom.

The groom's harem opened the car door to invite the bride out, and then the man, a blessed female elder, tied a red ribbon for the couple, and they both entered the front of the hall with the red ribbon. Don't step on the threshold at this time, because the threshold represents the facade, and the bride must cross the threshold. It is perfect for a girl to shine on them with a bronze mirror.

It's finally time to visit the legendary church. Under the auspices of the master concierge, the couple worshipped heaven and earth and their parents in front of the hall, and the husband and wife worshipped each other, and then they were sent to the bridal chamber with the sound of drum music.

The next morning, the bride and groom have to get up early to see their in-laws. The groom will introduce all relatives to his wife, and then the bride will offer tea to these elders.

On the third day, the couple will worship their ancestors together, so that the bride will officially become a family.

Finally, I want to prepare a thank-you gift for the matchmaker.

The whole wedding is officially over. The so-called "wedding night, to be the first time" is the most beautiful and proud moment for ancient men.