Rites of passage
Updated: 2013-09-13 07:12
(HK Edition)
|
|||||||
Meng Yuanlao, a refugee from the toppled Northern Song Dynasty, wrote a memoir describing his fond memories of life in the former capital: a chronicle of festivals, seasonal foods, and folk customs. A whole chapter is devoted to preparations for a wedding. Before a young couple could be bonded together, their parents would meet. Appropriate gifts would be exchanged. If the family of the groom approved of the match, they would place a gold hairpin in the young woman's hair. If they didn't approve, a piece of ribbon left behind was all that was needed to signify their disapproval.
Once the two families agreed to the wedding, the groom would arrive at the bride's home on the appointed day. Guests good naturedly would stand in their path demanding gifts. In the bride's path, the guests tossed grains, beans, coins and fruits, as symbols to ward off evil spirits. Children rushed to be showered with treats. The bride and groom then moved into the bridal chamber. They would coil together locks of their hair as a token of their marriage vows and the rites of marriage were nearly complete.
(HK Edition 09/13/2013 page4)