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Inner Mongolia‘s Wedding Ceremony and Tradition

There were elaborate outfits, elaborate rituals where the bridegroom march to pick up his bride, and then there is a celebration later in a Mongolian gur, or hut,"

In traditional Mongolian style, the bridegroom is pulled to his

wedding on the back of a mobile tent that was pulled by

camels.   .    There were elaborate outfits, elaborate rituals where the bridegroom march to pick up his bride, and then there was a celebration later in a Mongolian gur, or hut.   The bridegroom wears a specially-designed light blue gown topped with a gold vest for the traditional Mongolian ceremony, and rode to his bride's camp in a cart pulled by two camels, was carried to his wedding on the back of a mobile yurt pulled by two camels.  A limo follow the cart.   In keeping with tradition, the bride's attendants tried to "stop" the bridegroom from getting into the camp.

But they relented after the giant groom's sincere appeals, and the bridegroom was offered tea by the bride's relatives, symbolizing that he had been accepted into the family.   .  Kowtow to his parents and in-laws is a must according to the traditions in the Chinese wedding ceremony  by  offering the tea to his parents and in-law, and other senior family member such as brothers, sisters etc.

Chinese Wedding Ceremony: the wedding ceremony began with the groom and his party meeting the bride in her home. Before this day the bride's dowry would have been sent to the boy's house. The dowry represented her social status and wealth, and would be displayed at the boy's house. The most common dowries included scissors like two butterflies never separating, rulers indicating acres of fields, and vases for peace and wealth.

Before the meeting party's arrival, the bride would be helped by a respectable old woman to tie up her hair with colorful cotton threads. She would wear a red skirt as Chinese believed red foreshadowed delight. When the party arrived, the bride, covered by a red head-kerchief, must cry with her mother to show her reluctance to leave home. She would be led or carried by her elder brother to the sedan. In the meeting party the bridegroom would meet a series of difficulties intentionally set in his path. Only after coping with these could he pass to see his wife-to-be.

On the arrival of the sedan at the wedding place, there would be music and firecrackers. The bride would be led along the red carpet in a festive atmosphere. The bridegroom, also in a red gown, would kowtow three times to worship the heaven, parents and spouse. Then the new couple would go to their bridal chamber and guests would be treated to a feast. Wine should be poured to the brim of a cup but must not spill over.

On the night of the wedding day, there was a custom in some places for relatives or friends to banter the newlyweds. Though this seemed a little noisy, both of them dropped shyness and got familiar with each other.

On the third day of the marriage, the new couple would go back to the bride's parents' home. They would be received with also a dinner party including relatives

 Of course, marriage customs differed by region, but these were the most common. They have been maintained for thousands of years, but in recent years (especially after the founding of modern China ), people have tended to discard some of the details and advocate simplified marriage procedures and wedding ceremonies.

SOME CHINESE WEDDING :   AS FOLLOW:-

Chinese emphasize customs and traditions. It is important for them to marry on an auspicious day and, if possible, at an auspicious hour. When a couple decides to get married, both sides of the family will meet together. First, they will decide on the amount of money that the groom should pay for the bride's wedding preparation. Then they will pick the wedding day by looking through the Chinese lunar calendar and the astrological charts, which shows the days that are suitable for the wedding and will bring them luck. In contrast to Chinese, Americans are not superstitions when it comes to choose the wedding date. They will emphasize on practicality throughout the wedding preparation. The bride's family usually pays for the whole wedding. In addition, Chinese will prepare both western and eastern style wedding gowns. The bride usually wears the eastern style-wedding gown at the wedding banquet. It is a robe of red brocade or satin richly embroidered in gold thread and sequins. American, on the other hand, will choose only one kind of wedding gown.
 

Chinese wedding and American wedding also differ in ceremony. Besides the church ceremony, the traditional tea ceremony is also important to the Chinese. This tradition is often observed after the church ceremony in the main sitting room at the home of the groom's parents. The bride would "kowtow" to the groom's parents the groom greets the bride's parents. The bride then serves tea to the groom's father and mother. In return, the groom's parents give her a valuable gift, such as a piece of jewelry. It is a symbol of acceptance into the family. Then the bride will pour tea and bow to the groom's siblings, starting with the eldest brother and his spouse. One simple way for an American couple to get married is to go to Las Vegas , spend $25 and have a "simple marriage". This process takes less than 2 hours. In contrast to Chinese, Americans have the simple church ceremony

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 The Chinese usually regard the wedding banquet as the important partof the wedding besides the church and tea .    The Chinese usually regard the wedding banquet as the important part of the wedding besides the church and tea ceremony Both sides of the family will be pleased to see more guests to come and more tables to serve the guest. Unlike Americans, they will never serve buffet or refreshment as the wedding banquet. Americans will usually held the banquet at large hotels. On the other hand, the Chinese will usually held the banquet at a large Chinese restaurant. Every meal that is going to serve the guest will be named a special lucky name. Before the banquet start, the guests will come early to the restaurant and play "Mazhong" with other guests. The bride might change into the traditional Chinese wedding outfit or "kwa" when receiving guests. The guest will play jokes on both bride and groom. For instance, they will ask the groom to identify the bride by touching the girls hands without looking at their face. Unlike Chinese, American are more respectful to the wedding. The guests would not play "Mazhong" or any other gambling games at the wedding banquet. They will bless both the bride and the groom and will not play jokes on them.

 

Of course, marriage customs differed by region, but these were the most common. They have been maintained for thousands of years, but in recent years (especially after the founding of modern China ), people have tended to discard some of the details and advocate simplified marriage procedures and wedding ceremonies.

Cultural Fact:

Meaning of Kowtow:-

Although today the term is used as a general way of describing an act of submission or humility, the kowtow was a tradition in use for centuries in Asia to show respect and loyalty and defference to superiors. This included everyone from parents and in-laws, to whom one kowtowed at the wedding ceremony all the way up to the Son of Heaven. The word comes from the Chinese for bowing until your head bumps the ground. The formal Chinese kowtow included three kneelings and nine prostrations. The Vietnamese usually kowtowed five times such as at the enthronement of a new emperor. This was sometimes called the five "lays". The Emperor also had to kowtow to his ancestors who had died before him just as any other family man.