中西方婚礼习俗的差异___英语毕业论文.doc

中西方婚礼习俗的差异【关键词】中国婚礼习俗；西方婚礼习俗；差异；影响【正文】. introductionthe 21st century is dominated by science and technology, which makes the whole world develop quite rapidly. with the constantly increasing economic globalization and international exchange, the cultures of different regions are gradually spread and fused, such as the wedding customs of china and western countries.there are a lot of differences between chinese and western wedding customs from engagement to the end. chinese wedding is much more complex than western wedding, especially in the wedding ceremony. in the chinese traditional wedding customs people stress more and they have many taboos, for chinese people are more conservative and traditional, but the open-minded western peoples wedding is much simpler.at the same time, their different religions and different attitudes to marriage influence their wedding customs much, too. chinese people mostly believe in buddhism but the westerners have faith in christianity, which decide the place where the wedding is held and how complex the whole process is. chinese peoples marriage is relatively stable. because chinese people always consider marriage as one of the most important things in life. westerners concepts of marriage are extremely different from chinese. they believe that marriage is purely a private matter, and no one can interfere.this thesis addresses the differences between chinese and western wedding customs by analyzing the wedding procedures and the influence of different thoughts, attitudes and religions on the wedding customs. it is extremely important to understand the different cultures between china and western countries, which will help us to correctly understand the words and deeds of westerners in the intercultural communication, fully understand each other, and respect each others customs so as to get the best effect of communication.chinese wedding customs chinese traditional wedding ceremony includes a series of procedures. from engagement to the formal wedding ceremony, every procedure must be taken into serious consideration. the course below mainly describes the chinese wedding customs in order.a. three papers and six etiquettesaccording to chinese wedding customs, the first etiquette is three papers and six etiquettes, which is as important as the engagement at western wedding.three papers consists of the paper of engagement, the list paper of the presents to the brides and the paper of fetching the bride. they are going to be used on the day of engagement, the bridegrooms giving the presents of marriage to the brides and going and fetching the bride.six etiquettes includes asking for engagement, asking for the name and births of the newlyweds, showing some presents for engagement to the brides, giving the presents of marriage to the brides, choosing a good date for the wedding and going and fetching the bride on the day of the wedding. all these etiquettes must be completely in proper order before the wedding, and then the formal wedding can be held.b. order of chinese weddingthere is a certain order in chinese wedding. generally speaking, the whole process of the wedding includes a series of details. such as worshipping the ancestors，starting the trip，setting off the firecrackers, waiting for the bridegroom, taoxi(the brides friends or relatives ask the bridegroom for money), saying farewell to parents and brides relatives and friends, setting out, the car for the newlyweds, throwing a fan, setting off the firecrackers, touching the orange, leading by the bride, baitang(the formal ceremony of marriage at the wedding), the wedding banquet, sending-off the guests, disturbing the nuptial, and going back home three days later.1. going and fetching the brideon the day of the formal wedding, the bride is dressed up by the elders at her home, waiting for the bridegroom.before the bridegroom and his guard of honor start their trip, the bridegroom must hold the ancestor worship. after that they can start off, at the same time the firecrackers should be set off on the way to the brides.as they arrive at the brides, the brides friends must close the door in order to prevent the bridegroom seeing her at once. the bride cant see his bridegroom unless he satisfies all the requests of the brides friends, no matter how hard their requests are. when the bridegroom meets his bride, they are to say goodbye to the brides people after worshipping the brides ancestors. they bow down before her parents, after which the newlyweds can set off after the brides mother drapes kerchief over for her.on the way to the bridegrooms, the firecrackers should be set off, too. for chinese people like jollification and marriage is one of the most important things in ones life, they are happy to show others their good things. at the same time some festive music will be played to celebrate the newlyweds and spread peoples happiness. all people will have a happy trip.2. performing the formal wedding ceremonyin china, people will select a good date very carefully for a big event, especially for ones marriage or death, for there are many taboos to avoid and they think a good date may bring good luck. usually, they consult professional mr fengshui（the one who studys the geomantic omen professionally） for advice. mr fengshui will choose a good date for marriage and a good time for the ceremony of the wedding, and then they begin to prepare for the wedding.people paste congratulatory couplets and large red chinese character means“happiness” in english on the doorframes and walls. and they also lay out red blanket on the ground. when the bride arrives at the bridegrooms, two guys will light two strings of firecrackers(already bound on long bamboo poles) to celebrate the important moment. one of the bridegrooms elders will go to lead the bride out, and then the most important time comes. the person who is in charge of the ceremony will start to preside over the ceremony with the wedding music playing on. the bride and bridegroom will be led across the red blanket, the colorful paper strips and one kind of spray stuff will be setting off above the new couples heads. they walk shoulder by shoulder to the front of their parents who have already sat in a row of chairs at the end of the blanket. they bow down before their parents three times, and then they bow to each other three times, too. after that they formally become a couple.3. the wedding feastnowadays, the combination of chinese and western wedding is quite popular in china, especially in big cities. and the wedding banquet is mostly held on the evening of the wedding ceremony. at the wedding banquet, the brides wedding dress can be removed and replaced by the evening dress to propose a toast at the table. the new couple propose toasts to everybody present to show their thanks and nice blessings, and the guests must drink the wine the new couple gave, which they think will bring them good luck and health.4. disturbing the nuptialafter the wedding feast, most of the guests leave, and then the crazy time comes. some of their close friends will plan to make fun of the new couple in their bridal chamber, and usually they play games. chinese people think that the more seriously the new couple is disturbed, the happier the new couple will be in their life. therefore their friends and family make things difficult for the bride and the bridegroom in many ways.how seriously they will be made fun of depends on how seriously they fool other people at others wedding and whether the newlyweds are honest enough to people. the new couple cant have a rest until all the friends stop to left, and the whole wedding ends.5. going back to the brides three days latteron the third day after the marriage, the bride must go back to her parents with her husband with roasted meat and some other gifts. there, they worship her ancestors again, and they can even stay for a period of time before they return their own home. although the daughter is married, she shouldnt forget her own parents who gave her birth and brought her up. and as a new couple, the bride may not be accustomed to her new life, and then she will miss her parents. so she can go back to see her parents and thank them when they stay.c. etiquettes and customs at the chinese weddingin china, the parents always prepare some dowry for their daughter. the brides dowry includes a scissor, a ruler,some sugar tablets, vases, a copper pot and a pair of shoes, which indicate fortune. there are also pairs of quilts, bed linen and pillows, 72 sets of clothes and so on, which means a good wish for their rich and nice life. every item has its different meanings.1at the bridegrooms home, there are also many things to be prepared. at first they must tidy and layout the bridal chamber, and the whole chamber must be decorated with red things, such as red candles, red quilts. people paste congratulatory couplets and large red chinese character meaning“happiness” in english on the doorframes and walls. and then they need to prepare some food, fruit, tea, and wine on the table, which will be used at the night of the wedding. at the same time the bridegroom must prepare some money packaged in red paper bags to thank some people on the day of the wedding, such as his brides brother and people who helped him. people think the money in a red paper bag from the bridegroom will bring them good luck and nice life.d. taboos at the chinese weddingat the chinese traditional wedding, there are a lot of taboos.on the day of the wedding, people cant say bad words. people say it will bring something bad if they dont follow the customs. everything prepared for the wedding must be in pairs, such as the candle etc.when the bride arrives at the bridegrooms, she cant touch the threshold when she goes across, or she will bring bad luck.the pregnant women and the women who lose a parent or her husband recently cant attend the wedding, and they can not touch the brides new clothes and all of the items in the bridal chamber. if they did this, she had to crawl through the new couples unmarried brothers legs before she can go out.2the main color of chinese wedding is red. the whole wedding is presided over by the master of the ceremony, under whose command the newlyweds bow down to the god, their parents and themselves, and then go into the bridal chamber. chinese wedding is relatively complex, filled with laugh and happiness, which reflects the rackety character of chinese people. chinese wedding is also conservative, they stress a lot and there are many taboos at the wedding. but western wedding is much simpler and different from chinese wedding.western wedding customsa. engagementin western countries, people always engage first and then they can hold the formal wedding. many etiquettes and symbols need paying much attention to, especially the diamond ring at the engagement ceremony. diamond is considered as the best symbol of love, but why? the diamond is produced by heat energy and press, which makes it the hardest material discovered by human beings so far. in ancient times, human beings couldnt cut diamond for they didnt have such tools and skills. so the diamond naturally became the symbol of forever love, at the same time the heat energy that gestates the diamond means the passionate love. thus, the bridegroom must send a diamond ring to his bride to show his promise of forever unchanged love at their engagement ceremony.b. order of the western weddingmost westerners are christians, so western wedding is always held in the church, presided by the priest. on the day of the wedding, the new couples relatives and friends gather at the church to celebrate their wedding and to be the witnesses of their marriage.when the happy time comes, the bride will be led into the church by her father. the newlyweds go to the priest after her father gives her hand to her bridegroom, and then begins the ceremony.at first, the priest will ask the new couple and all people present several questions one by one, beginning with the bridegroom, and then they give their promises of marriage to each other. after that they can exchange their rings and kiss each other. finally, the priest will declare their marriage, which means the end of the wedding.c. etiquettes and customs at the western wedding1. something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a silver sixpence in her shoeeach item in this poem represents a good-luck taken for the bride. if she carries all of them on her wedding day, her marriage will be happy.something old symbolizes continuity with the brides family and the past.something new means optimism and hope for the brides new life ahead.something borrowed is usually an item from a happily married friend or family member, whose good fortune in marriage is supposed to carry over to the new bride. the borrowed item also reminds the bride that she can depend on her friends and family.as for the colorful item, blue has been connected to western weddings for centuries. in ancient rome, brides wore blue to symbolize love, modesty, and fidelity. christianity has long dressed the virgin mary in blue, so purity was associated with the color. before the late 19th century, blue was a popular color for wedding gowns, as evidenced in proverbs like,marry in blue, lover be true.and finally, a silver sixpence in the brides shoe represents wealth and financial security. a sixpence is a coin that was minted in britain from 1551 to 1967. it was made of silver and worth six pennies. so this wedding tradition is definitely english, and many sources say that it began in the victorian era. it may date back to a scottish customs of a groom putting a silver coin under his foot for good luck. for optimum fortune, the sixpence should be in the left shoe. these days, a dime or a copper penny is sometimes substituted, and many companies sell keepsake sixpences for weddings.32. dress of the bride at the western weddingat a wedding not only the ceremony needs to be complied with customs but also the dresses. in western countries the bride always wears a white dress.white means jubilation in the west, the bride wears a white dress in the church wedding is a symbol of purity.since roman times, the white was a symbol of celebration. from 1850 to 1900, the white is a symbol of prosperity. by the beginning of this century, the meaning of white is pure far more than the others.the west consider that the white is contacted with pure and virginity. in ancient rome, the bride wore a white dress, covered with a yellow veil, which symbolized the flames of passion. in the western catholic tradition, white represents happiness; in some other regions, white in the wedding and funeral instructs a variety of ceremony and significance.for example, in the andaman islands, white was the representative of the status change. traditional white wedding dress was the privilege of nobility in the early days. in liberia times, most of the brides can only wear the traditional national costumes, and only the upper class can wear white dress at the wedding, which was the symbol of power and identity. until modern times, after the privilege of nobility disappears the bride can wear white wedding dress ordinarily.4d. taboos at the western weddingthere are also many taboos at the western wedding, especially concerning the brides wedding dress. white wedding dress must not be matched with red shoes, because red shoes means to jump into the fire pit. red flower, red belt and other red things mustnt be matched with white dress, too, since white symbolizes pure while red is the opposite. white wedding dress should match white, golden or silver shoes.the bride must cover her face with a veil at the ceremony, for it is not only a decoration but also representing a dividing line, and it cant be exposed by other people except the bridegroom.the bridegroom always stands on the right of his bride, in order to avoid others from grabbing his bride away.when the new couple goes back to their bridal chamber, the bridegroom must hug the bride into the house and put her on the bed, avoiding her getting into the house with her left foot first, for they think that may bring bad luck to the new family.5.reasons of these differencesa. different thoughts between chinese and westerners1. chinese thoughtsthe above differences in wedding customs of chinese and western countries are directly related to the differences in their ideologies and the way of their thinking.chinese people are always more conservative, and they like gathering together enjoying the jollification and they have a relatively rigid mind. thus there is not much change in the wedding customs in the thousands of years history of china. the chinese traditional culture didnt have great changes until the western culture was spread into china in the beginning of the 20th century. many traditional wedding customs and etiquettes remain to nowadays. and the chinese peoples character of loving jollification is fully manifested in the chinese traditional complicated wedding ceremony.6 besides the marriage banquet, there is a luncheon before the bride leaves according to the chinese traditional wedding customs. in the end of the wedding, the couple will be disturbed by friends and family in their bridal chamber, and people think that the more serious the new couple is disturbed, the happier they will be in their life. therefore their friends and family use various methods to make things difficult for the bride and the bridegroom.2. westerners thoughtswestern people are more open-minded, and their requirement for the wedding is relatively lower. the climax of their wedding is in the church.