Traditional folk wedding, a folk custom project in the fourth batch of Lianyungang City's list of representative projects of municipal intangible cultural heritage. "Different customs in different places, different customs in different places". my country has a vast territory, and customs in various places are varied. Wedding etiquette is one of the branches in this garden of flowers. As one of the traditional folk customs, wedding ceremony customs are popular in various places, and they are slightly different in different regions. Lianyungang area is located in the central coastal area of my country. The urbanization process is gradually accelerating. Various wedding customs coexist and blend. Chinese wedding customs are still preserved and widely used. It is said that the earliest marriage etiquette in my country originated from Fuxi's marriage and Nuwa's matchmaking agreement, which was the beginning of a marriage relationship. Legend has it that in ancient times, floods flooded and drowned all the people and animals in the world, leaving only Fuxi and Nuwa, brother and sister. Taibai Jinxing asked them to get married and have children, but they thought they were brother and sister and refused to get married. They proposed that if they could connect the cut bamboos again, they would agree to get married. Later, they really connected them, and many knots were left. The two still refused and proposed to roll the millstones from two mountains. If the millstones could finally roll together, they could get married. However, when the millstones rolled together, the brother and sister still did not agree to get married. At this time, Nuwa proposed that if Fuxi could catch up with her, they could get married. As a result, Fuxi could not catch up with Nuwa at first. Later, a turtle carried Fuxi and chased from the opposite direction; Nuwa was caught off guard and was held in Fuxi's arms. The two finally got married and left human habitation for future generations. According to Du You of the Tang Dynasty, "The Emperor of Man first had the way of husband and wife. Fuxi established marriage and used deer skin as a gift. During the time of the Five Emperors, marrying a wife must be informed of the parents. In the Xia Dynasty, the bride was welcomed in the courtyard; in the Yin Dynasty, the bride was welcomed in the hall. In the Zhou Dynasty, the marriage was limited to three years for men and women, and the six rituals were prepared when the engagement was made." In the era of Fuxi, my country had the "deer skin ceremony". When men and women got married, the man gave the woman two deer skins as a betrothal gift. This was the beginning of marriage etiquette. In the Five Emperors period, the requirement of "informing parents" was added. In the Xia and Shang dynasties, the requirement of "welcoming the bride in the courtyard" and "welcoming the bride in the hall" was added. In the Zhou dynasty, a complete set of marriage etiquette was gradually formed. The marriage etiquette in Lianyungang is roughly the same as that in the whole country, collectively known as the "Six Rites". In the Qin and Han dynasties, it gradually became a custom. The so-called "Six Rites" are Nacai, Wenming, Naji, Nazheng, Qingqi, and Yingqin. Nacai means to choose, that is, a man chooses his wife for his final marriage; Wenming means to ask the woman's birthday, that is, what year, month, day, and time, in preparation for divination, also known as "matching the eight characters"; Chinese marriage is a major event in life, which requires divination, which is "Naji"; "Nazheng" is also known as "Nabi", which is commonly known as "passing the big gift", "giving the betrothal gift" or "giving the financial gift"; Qingqi, commonly known as "selecting a day", means that the man must choose an auspicious day for marriage and then inform the woman; the last is Yingqin, which is to hold a formal wedding, that is, to welcome the bride into the house on the agreed day. With the improvement of social civilization and the exchange of Eastern and Western cultures, the early wedding customs are constantly changing, improving, and gradually simplifying. Many young people no longer pay attention to it. However, marriage is a lifelong event for a person after all. Parents in each family are more serious and attach great importance to it. Some procedures are still indispensable, such as engagement, urging makeup, and the pomp of the marriage process, which still inherit the customs of the older generation and are preserved. The main wedding customs in Lianyungang are: 1. Pre-wedding procedures 1. It is very important to choose a date for engagement, and generally you have to ask a private school teacher or fortune teller to decide. First, find out the "big lucky month" and "small lucky month" according to the woman's birth date, and then choose an auspicious day. It was also marked in the old almanac. In urban and rural areas of Lianyungang, the custom of engagement is still followed. When getting engaged, the host family gathers relatives and friends for a reunion dinner to solemnly establish the relationship between the two. 2. After establishing a romantic relationship, if you get along well enough to want to get married, you can "pass the invitation". The "pass" in "pass the invitation" means "transfer" and "transmit" the meaning to each other. "Passing the invitation" requires choosing an auspicious day, preparing wine and food to entertain the matchmaker. The invitation is written by someone in the man's family, and the matchmaker passes it to the woman's family; after the woman's family receives the invitation, they also have to entertain the matchmaker and write the invitation to the man. There must be a pressure gift when passing the invitation. The man should prepare a generous gift and follow the matchmaker to give it to the woman, and the number of gifts should be even. Such as chicken, fish, cakes, colorful rice, clothing, jewelry, money, etc. After the banquet, the woman returns the chicken, fish and half of the colorful rice, and the rich give back the four treasures of the study. 3. Make the wedding bed Making the wedding bed is one of the important procedures before marriage. Before the wedding day, the man's family must paint the new house anew, hang red cloth curtains, seal the windows with red, and cover the stone mill and stone quilt in the house with red quilts. Local people believe that stone is a white tiger, and the newlyweds are most afraid of the white tiger. Ask a "comprehensive person" to make the wedding bed. To make the wedding bed, four "gold bricks" wrapped in red paper should be used to pad the bed legs, and copper coins or silver dollars should be placed under the four bed legs, no matter how many. 4. Rolling the bed After the wedding bed is made, it is usually necessary to invite a smart and clever little boy from a harmonious and wealthy family to roll around on the wedding bed. This is called "rolling the bed with a happy boy". This happy boy is mostly selected from the family. As the wedding boy rolls, a "full-handed person" says: "Roll up the bed, roll down the bed, there will be a champion every year." In some places, several wedding boys are invited to roll the bed, and the wedding boys who roll the bed are rewarded. 5. Urge the man to get married and hold a wedding, or call it marrying, bringing a daughter-in-law, etc., and the woman's marriage is called going out, leaving the house, etc. "Urging the makeup" is the day before the "real day" of the wedding. 2. The procedure for the wedding day. 1. The bridal sedan sets off: The bridal sedan is decorated at the door of the groom's house, and the sedan bearers, drummers, the bride-receiving team, cameramen, photographers and other relevant personnel are all in place, and the four gifts for the bride, red envelopes, ceremonial flowers, firecrackers, etc. are all in place. At a good time, the sedan is lifted, the firecrackers and drummers sing together, and accompanied by suona and lion dance, the bridal sedan starts to set off. The groom leads the welcoming team to the bride's house; 2. The bride enters the sedan: The bride should be carried out by her brothers or cousins and sent to the sedan. 3. Shake the bridal sedan: The bridal sedan is only a formality at present, unless the two families are very close. According to the convention, red envelopes should be given to the sedan bearers, otherwise they will intentionally shake the sedan to make the bride "feel good". The bride is covered with a red veil, accompanied by the bridesmaids, and led by the groom holding a large red silk, and slowly gets on the bridal sedan. 4. The bride gets off the bridal sedan: The matchmaker or bridesmaid lifts the curtain of the sedan, and the bride walks out of the sedan with the help of the matchmaker or bridesmaid. 5. Invite the parents: Invite the parents of both parties to the stage and take their seats. 6. Invite the groom: The groom stands on the stage. 7. Cross the fire basin: The bride crosses the fire basin with the help of the matchmaker or bridesmaid, symbolizing the prosperity of the newlyweds after marriage. 8. Shoot red arrows: The bride takes the bow and arrow handed by the best man, draws the bow and shoots 3 red arrows, the first arrow shoots to the sky, heaven-sent good marriage and family happiness; the first arrow shoots to the earth, long-lasting happiness; the third arrow shoots to the distance, a happy life and long-lasting love. 9. Crossing the saddle: The bride crosses the saddle with the help of the matchmaker or bridesmaid, which means that the couple will have a safe family after marriage. 10. Pulling the red ball: The bride walks onto the stage with the help of the matchmaker or bridesmaid, and the best man presents the red ball. The bride and groom each hold one end of the red ball and stand on the stage. 11. Worship in the hall: The couple each holds one end of the red ball and worships in the hall. Generally, the witness will say: "First bow to the heaven and earth, bow to the guests, second bow to the parents, and then the husband and wife bow to each other." 12. Picking up the wedding veil: The best man presents the Ruyi scale, and then the groom uses the Ruyi scale decorated with red cloth to pick up the wedding curtain on the ice of the bride, and from then on, everything will be as he wishes. 13. Serving tea: The tea brewed by the Ruyi scale is served to the parents of both parties by the newlyweds, which is called "tea for changing the mouth". The elderly also have to give a certain amount of money called "changing the mouth fee". 14. Salute to the parents: Ask the parents of both parties to give a speech. 15. Passing incense and lighting wedding candles: The mothers of the bride and groom light wedding candles together (from now on, the house will be full of children and grandchildren), and the parents of both parties take their seats. 16. Eating longevity noodles for descendants: The best man brings a bowl of longevity noodles for descendants. "Chopsticks, chopsticks, give birth to a baby soon!" As soon as the bride moved her chopsticks twice, someone shouted: "Will you give birth? The bride smiled and replied: "Yes!" 17. Wedding wine (cup-to-cup wine): The best man presents a full wine cup, and the newlyweds drink the wedding wine, and from then on they will love each other and grow old together. 18. The newlyweds rush into the cave. The above are some basic procedures, and some places can also make adjustments according to the needs of the family. The utensils used in Chinese weddings are relatively complicated, requiring a big red sedan chair, a veil, a veil carrying pole, a red handkerchief, a red ball, wedding candles, a brazier, flowers, etc. The Chinese wedding ceremony is a collective inheritance passed down from ancestors, and is basically passed on orally and passed on from one person to another. In Lianyungang City, due to There are relatively few wedding sedan chairs. Nowadays, there are not many people who hold weddings according to the Chinese wedding ceremony. They all ask wedding companies to organize the weddings, but most wedding procedures still follow the original form. Lianyungang Red Rose Etiquette Company and Donghai Joyful World Wedding Etiquette are experts. Among them, Zheng Degan (born in 1959), Zheng Wei (born in 1989) and his son, and Li Meng (born in 1968) from Donghai County are all familiar with Chinese wedding ceremonies and can grasp the specific procedures well, inheriting and protecting the essence of Chinese wedding etiquette.