The Wedding Day

In a traditional Chinese wedding, there are five rituals that define this day. The first is the bride's departure. The bride will be fully attired from head to toe in classical Chinese red as she prepares to leave home. When the groom's entourage arrives at the bride's home, she is taken away in a curtained sedan chair made of bamboo. The bride is carried onto the sedan chair by the matchmaker so that her feet would not touch any evil spirits on the ground. Once the bride leaves the house she could not return until the third day after the wedding rites and be accompanied by her husband. On the tenth day and thereafter, she can return by herself without her husband.

The second ritual is the bride's arrival. Traditionally, when the bride arrived at the groom's home, firecrackers were lit to ward off any evil spirits. Before the sedan chair is set down it has to pass over a hot pot of charcoal to burn away any evil spirits. Then the chair is set down and the bride steps out and over a saddle, a symbol of stability.

The third Chinese wedding ritual is the wedding altar. Traditionally, the Chinese matrimonial rites included a red sash to signify the union of the couple. The couple will walk to the altar each holding an end of the red sash. At the altar is where the fourth ritual takes place, paying respects to the family. At the altar the newlyweds will honor the groom's family ancestors by bowing three times at their home altar. Finally, the last ritual is the tea ceremony, where the couple serves tea to family members in descending order, from the oldest to the youngest: grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, and older married siblings. During this ceremony, the couple kneels on pillows and offers tea with two hands to their grandparents and parents. Tea is then served to the other elders standing up. In return, each elder offers a wedding present of jewelry or lai see (red envelope of lucky money). This ends the ceremony which marks the beginning of the wedding banquet.

Source: http://library.thinkquest.org/C004203/social/chinese.jpg; http://www.chinapictures.org/images/chinese-wedding/1/chinese-wedding-40722180035855.jpg; http://english.people.com.cn/200505/16/images/0515_B67.jpg; http://library.thinkquest.org/06aug/00844/images/hongkong.jpg