Research paper marriage tradition
It is not only a deal between two people but also related to their families and social relationship. On the other hand, Americans believes that marriage s gift from God and means that couples are combined in one. However, no matter in what the culture, a wedding is always full of blessing and happiness. People in both countries regard marriage as one of the greatest event in one’s life. They have similarity of base frameworks on the marriages. The first one is reasons why getting marry.
Although these two countries have their own religion background which affecting their view of marriage, they are having the same expectation and blessing for the couples: hoping them will love with passion and take care of each other no matter what is going to append. The second similarity is the transaction of the marriage license to become legal couples. In China, since the passing of new legal marriage polices, people are allowed to freely choose one’s partner for marriage.
It is same way in America “The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men. “Which Loving v. Virginia, 388 U. S. 1 (1967) had mentioned. Both countries support freedom of marriage. People are born to be equal, so marriage partners can be chosen whoever you are. Planning a wedding involves many steps in most cultures. In the old traditional China, the couple’s family would usually plan the whole wedding schedule for them.
However, nowadays couples can be involved to plan the processes by themselves or find marriage planning companies for help. It is similar to America that both males and females have the right to give ideas for their planning. There is also a common phenomenon that couples from these two countries will have much more pressure than before getting marry during the preparation because they may be worried about the preparation and hole routine, such as, budget of the whole marriage, guest list, dates of wedding etc. Based on the difference of culture background, China and America celebrate their wedding in unique ways.
Before getting married, Chinese couples have to give a formal visit to each others parents in order to get the permission Of marriage. Next, they will discuss to choose the best day from the Chinese lunar calendar that is symbol as goodness to get marriage. It is very important in Chinese culture because it means couples would have a smooth life and good luck after the wedding. However, there are no imitations on the exact day for a wedding in the US . Couples can get married whenever they prefer . They often have an engagement before wedding.
In the IIS the day the couples get engaged is often a special surprise for the girl that the groom-to-be plans with great care. One of the biggest differences between China and the USA is the format of wedding. In China are three letters and six etiquette need to be followed in traditional wedding. However, people intense to simplify them to match up the trending of society. In today’s main processes, bridegroom and best men will first go to he bride’s home to escort the girl. Before meet the girls, bridesmaid may ask bridegroom to get over some tasks.
Next, the couples will pay respect by kneeling three times. Then they will go to the ceremony hall or stay in bridegroom’s home to another etiquette, they will have to greet the parents- in-law to be with a cup of tea each and the parents will return the daughter- in-law to be with a red packet of money inside. On the other hand, America couples try to keep the tradition for the bride and groom to avoid seeing each other until they go before the minister. This tradition is less important in the present society than it once was.
Most American weddings are held in churches, quiet and peaceful, while Chinese wedding are at home , noisy and lively. It is well known in America, people have a firm belief in God thus the couples will go to church to vow for their love and the religious leader will ask the couples to promise they won’t abandon each other’s. Then they will exchange rings that symbolize never ending love and happiness. The only thing similar to both countries is the bridesmaids and best men and they are usually non-married. Another important procedure is the banquet.
Couples will invite their relatives and friends to enjoy good meals and share their happiness. In Chinese banquet, the couple need to drink each other’s half cup Of wine with crossed hand which means they will love each other forever. In the meal, they will choose dishes with implied goodness meaning. For example fish dish is highly recommend and should not be eaten totally due to the homophobic of words which symbolize enrichment. Meanwhile, America’s banquet have more details procedure, the couples will have dances tit each other and the IR parents.
Then the bride will throw the bouquet and the bridegroom will throw the garter. The tradition is that the ones who catch the garter and bouquet are likely to marry soon. Western cultures believe that a white color represents love, purity and good luck. Therefore, in America, a bride wears a white elegant wedding dress, a long white veil and carries a white bouquet. Besides that a bride should also wear five other things: something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a sixpence in shoe.
A bride might wear old jewelry from her mother indicating her former friendship and family ties after marriage. A new might be bought newly to represent her new life starting and to be happy and blessed. A bride is going to borrow something from a female who enjoys her marriage in order to look for good luck. Something blue is a symbol of loyalty and love and a sixpence in shoe and a penny means she will have a wealth life. These traditional wearing have their unique meanings which bring good fortune. Different from America, white color in China symbolizes misfortune and only used when person who pass away.
However, red color is more likely to use that come from a worship of Apollo– the red sun which always bring harvest. That’s why red color in Chinese become a symbol of good luck, health, honor and happiness. At traditional Chinese wedding, everything is red, the bride wears an embroidered gown, a Phoenix coronet shawl on bead and a red scarf. Phoenix patterns on the clothing are indispensable in China’s culture. It symbolizes female and indicates auspicious. For the red scarf, it should be uncovered by the bridegroom until the wedding ceremony is end.
