从婚礼习俗看中美文化差异

1、江苏工业学院本科生毕业设计（论文）1 Brief Introduction of the Wedding CustomsMarriage has long bee n one of the primary eleme nts of huma n relatio ns ever since the an cie nt time. It exists in almost every coun try. Weddi ng is the cerem onies held by two people who want to become a couple and by which they tell p

2、eople the fact that they have already become husba nd and wife. And it is the proof of their love, their happ in ess, and will also leave many sweet memories to them. Weddi ng customs reflects time and eth nic features and has their cultural and folklore characteristics according to different countr

3、ies, regions and ethnics. Different wedding customs formed their shapesafter the appearanceof marriage. Weddi ng custom is not only the un ity of pluralistic social life styles and features, but also the developme nt tendency of sen ses of value, in clud ing values on aesthetic, eth ni cs, religi on

4、 and psychology, which are the cultural accumulatio n and spiritual legacy of huma n bein gs. Now I would like to state the wedding cultural differences by introducing the Chinese traditional wedd ing customs and its cha nges as well as the America n one.2 Chinese Traditional Wedding CustomsAs a ver

5、y important rite in one' s life, wedding has amgnbpbasized subject forChinese people. We can divide the whole ceremony into three periods: before the wedding cerem ony, duri ng the wedd ing cere mony and after the weddi ng cerem ony. And some an cie nt books, such as The Book of Rite and Rites o

6、f Zhou, divide it into six steps: Proposing, Asking the Name, Asking for Fortune, Sending Betrothal Presents to theGirl 'Family, and Discuss ing the Date of Wedd ing and Meeti ng the Bride. They are also known as the six etiquettes. (Wang Ye, 2006: 57)2.1 Before the CeremonyThese six etiquettes

7、that I men ti oned above were also known as the period before the wedd ing cerem ony.Propos ing comes first. The boy ' s family retai ns a matchmaker to bring a live wild goose to the girl' s fawhiikyh is the symbol of the will-be- couple 'faithfulness and eternal love.If the girl' s

8、 parents agirebewtiarriage, they will accept the wild goose and the boy maypropose to the girl formally.The next step is to “Ask the Name The procedure goes as follows: the boy ' s family asks the matchmaker to go to the girl' s home to ask her name anakterthdaugurywith the marriage. The pre

9、se nt the matchmaker takes should also be a wild goose, and if the girl ' s family agrees to tell the name, they would accept the present.Asking for Fortune is one of the most important steps in the six etiquettes. The boy' s family will retain a wizard to see the reas on ability of the marr

10、iage by testi ng the couple ' s n ames and birthdays that they acquired from the former step, and whether the marriage would be carried on successfully or not depe nds on the result of the divin ati on.If the result is good to them, the n the girl accepts the betrothal prese nts that are sent by

11、 the boy' family, and will be betrothed to the boy. This step is called Sending Betrothal Presents to the Girl ' s Family.Whe n the boy and the girl are suitable and well prepared to get married accord ing to the law, the boy ' s famiilllychoose a good day for the wedding and ask the mat

12、chmaker to tell it to the girl ' s family for discussion.The last step of the six etiquettes is Meeti ng the Bride. This is, i n a n arrow sen se, what we call the wedd ing cerem ony .It is also one of the most importa nt steps in the whole process. The groom picks up the bride with a pala nquin

13、 while the bride is wait ing at her home. (He Xiaomi ng, 2007:86)2.2 During the CeremonyThe day that the groom meets the bride is the liveliest day duri ng the whole process of the wedd ing cerem ony. Two people will carry two big red lanterns and walk in the front of the whole team, and beh ind the

14、 two people is the groom who rides a tall and strong horse; the n the Chin ese Oboe team and a team of roustabouts carry ing betrothal gifts. The whole team is surro un ded by music and happ in ess.After the bride is picked up and arrives at the boy' home, the couple performs the traditi onal Th

15、ree Bows. Firstly, they bow to the great Heave n and Earth, and sec on dly, they bow to their pare nts, and fin ally, they bow to each other. After the Three Bows the groom' smother picks up one dumpling which is in the bowl of children” by using a pair ofchopsticks of childre n”，bless ing the b

16、ride' s preg nan oAfter the bless ing rite, there will be a banq uet held by the boy' family; every one there will enjoy a luxurious dinner. Then a program called Revelry in the Bridal Chamber, which is also named “ Nao Dongfang ” by the Chin ese, will be on .It is ofte n very in teresti ng;

17、 people there will make it happy and lively by playi ng practical jokes on the couple, and sometimes they will frien dly embarrass the bride to achieve this goal. (Li Guimei & Yu Fan gqi n, 2000:12)2.3 After the CeremonyThe n the wedd ing cerem ony n early comes to an end. But there still remai

18、n two rites to perform; they are meeti ng the relatives of the spouses, and going back to the bride thank pare nts-i n-law and other people. Till the n, the Chin ese traditi onal wedd ing comes to an end.2.4 Changes in the CeremonyWith its dross and essence,the miscellaneous and tedious Chinese wedd

19、ing customs have kept the traditions for hundreds and thousands of years ever since the first one was performed and now it is in tegrated in to the moder n society. The esse nee becomes beautiful see nery of the city, while some dross and complex rites are aba ndon ed,however, some of which still ca

20、n be seen today. This, to some extent, enables the Chinese modern wedding customs to come into existe nee. But accord ing to differe nt eras, Chin ese wedd ing prese nted differe nt kinds of visages.During the republican period, it is in the spirit of developing peoplespiritual'life anddoing awa

21、y with superstiti on that the republica n gover nment inten ti on ally carried out the New Life Movement. As a result, the wedding customs that were very close to people were in evitably in flue need, some traditi onal complex rites were abolished and some new styles of the western kind were in tegr

22、ated into the new customs. After decades of years, many people took off the mandarin jacket and cheongsam, put on the black suit and white dress in the wedd ing.After the establishment of People ' s Republic of ChinChinese government advocated the simplicity and modesty of holdi ng the weddi ng

23、cerem ony, so the traditi onal one gradually lost its power. People did not sta nd on the old rites and customs, hence the wedd ing cerem ony was held simply and rustically. Gree n uniform took the place of the wedd ing costumes; daily necessities like watch, bike and sewing machine played the role

24、of betrothal gifts and marriage porti on.As time goes by, no wadays people are more literate; they not on ly prompt the Chin ese weed ing to abolish the old complex rites and customs as well as dross, maintain the basic feature and essencelike Three Bows, but also have been developing it by absorbin

25、g the western one ' s advantagShan Qi, 2005:274)3 The American Traditional Wedding CustomsIn the book All Dressed in White, Carol Wallace holds that the American wedding customs today origi nated in the middle of the l9h cen tury. She says that the customs took its shape by comb ining the religi

26、ous cerem ony and the banq uet held later together, and the prin ciples they follow today are weddi ng customs sprung up around 1850s in the America n upper class, which the n gradually in filtrated in to the com mon people. (Wallace, 2001:49)As far as we know, the America n weddi ng can be categori

27、zed into three kin ds. They are religious marriage, which is held by a priest in church; secular marriage, which is the non-religious one that is held by local officials; and com mon law marriage, which is the one that does not need to receive the marriage certificate nor hold a ceremony. (Liu Ning,

28、 2006:10) However, the religious one is adopted by most America n people and it is the one I will in troduce to you.3.1 Before the CeremonyGen erally speak ing, the spouses ' frie nds will be in vited tothe parties held before the wedding comes. As the girl ' s family will hold a bridal show

29、echvohiy allows women to attend to give presents to the will-be-bride, while the boy ' s family will also hcbdchelor party, which only allows men to attend. And after the parties they will hold a betrothal cerem ony and make the preparatio ns for the wedd ing cerem ony. In the betrothal cerem on

30、y the couple excha nges betrothal rin gs, which represe nt the un breakable relati ons and the duty they have to bear after they get married.Traditio nally, on the wedd ing day, the groom cannot meet the bride nor eve n take a look at the bride ' dEess before they set foot on the church land. An

31、d another great feature of America n wedd ing is that the bride always wears“ someth ing old, somethi ng n ew, somethi nborrowed and something blue (Li Changlei, 2000:220)3.2 During the CeremonyThe wedd ing cerem ony usually takes place at the church. Whe n it beg ins, the church plays wedd ing marc

32、h composed by Wagner, and the bride walks slowly through the corridor of the church with her father on to the cha ncel. At the same mome nt, a flower girl who is in charge of throw ing flowers walks in front of them and throws petals into the air to make a happy atmosphere. Then the father brings hi

33、s daughter to the groom who wears full dress in deep color. After that, the bride will stand on the left side of her will-be-husband and the priest will make them sta nding in front of him with their faces faci ng him. Soon the priest will preside over the traditi onal wedd ing cerem ony. After the

34、oath is made and weddi ng rings are excha ngedthe priest saysptoioou nee you husba nd and wife, and hope you will beboth very happy ” in a solemn thay, the wedding in church comes to the end. Surrounded by the music of sole mn est and happ in ess, the couple walks hand in hand through the corridor a

35、nd roams out of the church. On their way outside, those people prese nt will show bless ings by throwing rice, petals of rose and confetti onto them. The ceremony in church usually takes 45 minu tes at the most.3.3 After the CeremonyThere will be a banq uet after the cerem ony. By con trast with the

36、 Chin ese one, the fee of American wedding banquet is bored on the girl 'family, and the size of it dependson their living condition. On the banquet, every male guest may kiss the bride, which means that it is the end of the bride young era, and is the time for her to become a faithful wife from

37、 the n on. Then a big weddi ng cake will be served on the banq uet. Together the bride and the groom grip a knife and cut the cake into small pieces. The first two pieces will be the couple ' sdathe rest ones will be handed over to every guest. When the banquet is nearly over, the bride will sta

38、 nd in the middle of the room with her back on the guests, and throw a bunch of flowers to the young ladies, or throw the garter to the gen tleme n. It is said that the one who catches the bunch of flowers or the garter will be the n ext bride or groom, and willget bless ings from the others. So the

39、 banq uet ends in a happy atmosphere.Then it is the honeymoon travel, the fee of which should be bored on the boy' s family. thIt is said that in the 4 century, the young Teutones kept such a custom when they got married, and now, the honeymoon travel becomes the first stop of the new couple Se,

40、 but it does not have to be 30 days now but the len gth should depe nd on their liv ing con diti on.(Foreig n Lan guage Teach ing and Research Press, 2002)4Some regi ons have their own traditi ons. In a city of Maryla nd,“ Do not kiss your loveris a popular wedd ing custom. It is said that a man can

41、not in itiatively kiss his spouse whe n they are chatting, or he will be refused or even be accusedof insulting and be taken in custody for a week. As in Hawaii, there is a lively wedding held on water, in which the couple will si ng and dance first, the n they will be throw n in to the sea and swim

42、 to a boat prepared for their hon eym oon. As time cha nges, some America n young people today do not abide by the traditi onal cerem ony but pursue the ones of inno vati on, so some of them have a mountain-tops weddi ng, some have the wedd ing on the ocea n floor with oxyge n tanks and some would l

43、ike to hold sno wfield weddi ng. (Zhu Hua n, 2005:876)4 Different Cultures and Thoughts of the WeddingsThe above are some customs about Chin ese wedd ing and America n wedd ing, but what are the differe nces betwee n the two wedd in gs?4.1 The General Image of the Two WeddingsTo beg in with, we can

44、describe the Chin ese wedd ing as a red one and the America n weddi ng as a white one. People have differe nt un dersta ndings of the color of red and white betwee n the Chin ese people and the America n people.The main color of the Chin ese wedd ing is red, and Chin ese people have kept the habit o

45、f pasting big double red Chinese character happiness' on the walls, the window glasses, the doors and the other goods around them ever since hun dreds and thousa nds of years ago. In additi on, the can dles, eggs, pea nu ts, red bag, the bedclothes in the bridal chamber and the weddi ng dresses

46、that the bride and groom wear duri ng the cerem ony are all red. It fills the weddi ng with happ in ess and jubila nee; blesses the new couple to lead a happy life. If a bride can wear a red weddi ng dress made by her mother, the bride gets bless ings from her mother. The reas on why there are so mu

47、ch red things in Chin ese weddi ng is that red has long bee n regarded as a symbol of good fortune as well as good luck and happ in ess for Chin ese people. (Guo Sha ngxing, 2006:355)America n wedd ing also pays much atte nti on to choose a color for the wedd ing. There is a say ing about the symbol

48、s of the wedd ing color, and it goes as: white weddi ng, all the best; blue wedding, right choice of the groom; brown wedding, living in the town; green weddi ng, shy people; red wedd ing, death curse to yourself; yellow wedd ing, wrong choice ofthe groom; black wedding, it' s better (PaanWelnji

49、n, 2008:159) So the main color ofthe America n wedd ing is white, which is helpful to make the wedd ing quiet and peaceful. For in sta nee, the wedd ing dress, the layout of the celebrat ing places, the cake on the banq uet and the wedding car are all white. The bride' s white dress and the groo

50、m' s black fiplus the white surro unding create a sole mn atmosphere. Back in Roma n times, the white color was the representative of festivity, while between the years of 1850 and 1900, white was also the symbol of riches and honor. And now, white as the symbol of chaste ness has surpassed the

51、other meanin gs.Second of all, the two weddings are totally different from the sound aspect. It is con sidered, in China, that the more no ises the weddi ng is, the more lively it will be and the more bless ings the couple would get, and as a result, the wedd ing day is always filled with the no ise

52、 of firecrackers. As in America, the weddi ng is a peaceful one, and the weddi ng march played in church is sere ne and gen tle. There will be no other sound in church whe n the weddi ng march is being played, so the wedd ing would be completed in a very sole mn atmosphere.Due to the different tradi

53、tional cultural perspectives, main colors and the sound en vir onment of the weddi ngs betwee n the two coun tries differ from each other. Red or white is con sidered un propitious in America or China. A red wedd ing makes America n believe that it brings curses of death to them; on ly white which b

54、rings a quiet and peaceful en vir onment makes them believe that it may bring blesses from God; on the other hand, the color of white usually appears in fun erals of China, but only a red and no isy en vir onment helps to build a happy and lively atmosphere for the weddi ng cerem ony.4.2 Different W

55、edding Dresses in the Two WeddingsAs time goes by, the traditi onal Chin ese red garme nts are now used less and less, and as the result of foreign culture ' s aggression, most Chinese brides would weatoa white weddi ng dress as the America ns do to show her purity and beauty. However, while Chi

56、n ese traditi ons have not stop spread ing in the new en vir onment, white wedd ing dresses will still be decorated with red flowers or ropes, for after all, white is the color used in fun erals of China by tradition. All the clothes, shoes andstockings will be well prepared by mothers. She will exh

57、ort the bride not to wear anything that include the Chinese character 短 ” in the name, such as knickers and socks. It is believed that all the things thah ave a 短character in it symbolizes the marriage would be an ephemeral one.There is an un writte n rule in America n weddi ng say ing that the brid

58、e has to wear five thin gs:“ someth ing old, somethi ng n ew, somethi ng borrowed, someth ing blue and a tanner inthe shoes. Something old” is a white yarn the bride wears on her head, the old one that her mother used in the wedd ing doze ns of years ago, which means the un forgettable pare nts '

59、; fosterage; something new” refers to a white wedding gown, which must be newly bought by第6页共13页江苏工业学院本科生毕业设计（论文）the bride, represe nti ng her virgi nity and also the beg inning of th e couple life; someth ing borrowed” is a handkerchief the bride uses should be borrowed from her friends, which means that she will never forget their friendship, something borrowed" has to be returned to its owner so that it meets the meaning of; sboiehingl blue” is a ribbon that shewears has to be blue in color, represe nting her faithf uln ess and loyalty to their love; they put a tanner in the shoes