Think bride price is a headache? Let you see the ancient "Six Rites"—

At present, there are quite a number of videos and articles on the Internet, which tell us that in the process of preparing for marriage, there are too many things that make people feel sad or sigh around the bride price. This kind of melon often attracts the attention of the masses. There are also many "young victims" who are deeply influenced by it, calling for the abolition of this custom.

So, how did this custom of receiving bride price money come into being? This is really a frozen sheep in June-it's a long story.

Since the Zhou Dynasty, with the increasing importance of marriage, people paid more and more attention to the procedure of marriage and began to form a set of established etiquette. Only by following or completing these rituals can the legitimacy of marriage be recognized by society. Otherwise, there was no civil affairs bureau before. You think you can claim to be married just by bringing a casual member of the opposite sex? Are you lovers?

In the previous etiquette, etiquette was divided into two stages, engagement (note, not engagement. The ancients paid attention to the use of words, which meant determination. Then they got mixed up. When getting married, * * * has "six rites".

Six gifts refer to the steps of receiving gifts, asking names, receiving gifts, receiving gifts, inviting guests, welcoming relatives and so on.

Nacai means that the man's father sends a matchmaker to the woman's house to propose marriage. After the woman agreed, the man sent an envoy to formally propose to her with goose as a gift. As for using geese as gifts, it is because the ancients thought that geese were birds that migrated with the sun, in order to compare the significance of wives following their husbands. After Qin and Han Dynasties, lambs, latex paints and acacia flowers were also used as gifts to symbolize the harmony and deep affection between husband and wife. In the selection of envoys, customs vary from place to place, some are more particular and some are more casual.

After that, the messenger "asked the name", as well as the name of the woman's biological mother, the woman's name, ranking, birth time and so on. Will be asked. After asking, I will go back to the man's house to predict good or bad luck, and now it is no exception. The general matchmaker or introducer will know the specific situation of the woman, not just asking the name. Although divination is gone, whether the conditions are suitable will always be weighed.

After "asking the name", if divination is a good omen, then let the messenger return to the woman's house to confirm the marriage. This is called "Naji", which means that the marriage contract is formally concluded.

After "Najib", it is necessary to "levy". This is a bride price that makes many modern youth and families have a headache. This etiquette is that the man gives the woman a bride price, cash and property. Some books are called "Nabi", which is very straightforward. After this ceremony, the marriage began to enter the formal preparation stage. There is no certain regulation on the amount of bride price (modern society has heard that every place has its own standard, but this standard has never really become a "standard"). The "bride price", "bride price" and "overdetermined" mentioned by later generations all refer to this traditional ceremony.

After the "sign" is "please wait a moment". When we say "invitation", it is usually decided by the man. "invitation" is just a courtesy, which means that the man should not make a decision without authorization, so it was later called "invitation", which is much simpler and more direct.

Finally, the climax and drama came, and the "pro-welcoming" ceremony. In ancient times, it was agreed that the groom would go to the woman's house in person at dusk (marrying a woman at dusk is said to be the original meaning of the word "marry", but in modern China, the customs of various places have gradually changed, some welcome guests in the morning, some at noon and some at night. )。

It is worth noting that in the ancient "Six Rites", except the "Wedding Ceremony", the other five rites were performed by both parents, especially the father.

In the evolution after its formation, "Six Rites" have different development and changes due to different local customs. But on the whole, it is gradually simplified. After all, it takes a lot of energy and time to go back and forth, and each link is very complicated, so it is gradually simplified, and each class chooses some of them according to their own abilities and needs.

If you are interested, you can discuss your local wedding process together later, learn from each other and continue to improve some bad customs, which can be regarded as making some contributions to social progress.