Compared:The Mexican and Chinese marriage ceremonies have some similarities. They both signify that a new relationship has occurred--they bound two people together. Both ceremonies do incorporate the parents for something: the Chinese ceremony includes a Tea Ceremony where the parents are served by the newly wed couple and the Mexican ceremony has the bride and groom dance with their parents at the reception party. Gifts are also a part of both ceremonies: at the Chinese Tea Ceremony, the red envelopes filled with jewelry or money is a must. For the Mexican Ceremony, gifts may be given at the Reception.
Contrast: There are significant differences between the Traditional Chinese Marriage Ceremony and the Mexican Marriage Ceremony. The first involves the covering of the bride. In the Chinese Marriage Ceremony the bride's face is completely covered until it is uncovered in the ceremony. The guests do not see her face until that point. For the Mexican Marriage Ceremony, there is no covering of the bride. She may wear a veil but most of the veils only cover the back of the body and are, now, decorative wedding regalia. There is also a difference in a respect of the earth, each other, and the parents. The Chinese Ceremony has the couple bow to the earth, to their parents, and to each other. Then, the couple must later pour tea and serve their parents and/or family. The Mexican Ceremony focuses on the couple for respect. The couple say vows and make promises to each other. There is not true focus on their parents, the earth, or their families.
Analyzation: From the Chinese Ceremony, it is easy to understand more about the Chinese Culture. One can easily deduce that the earth and the heavens are valuable aspects of the Chinese culture--it has been included in a wedding ceremony, AND that bowing is a primal part of showing respect in Chinese culture. Additionally, the bride has to have her face covered which tells me there may be more restrictions on females depending on their families. These restrictions would be the product of, most likely, a very patriarchal society. One can also assume that the culture is very subservient to their elders and family with the bride and groom serving their parents and/or their families.
The Mexican Ceremony tells us that, the Mexican government is not controlled by religion since it requires a civil wedding ceremony to indicate a legal wedding. The government seems to be pretty strict as well requiring four signatures to prove a couple has been married. There may be serious requirements and/or restrictions for couples who are married. By that I mean, maybe there are tax differences for married couples or maybe Mexico has had a serious history of elopement issues and are trying to prevent them. The religious ceremony indicates that religion is a very true part of the Mexican culture. The culture also uses symbols rampantly: they use gold rings to indicate their possession of each other, they use gold coins for a successful income, and they use a rosary to indicate love and their commit together. The culture also practices a similar ritual to sacrifice where they place a bouquet at the feet of the Virgin de Guadalupe. Though there is no actual sacrifice this follows along the lines of Greek or Roman sacrifices of possessions to the Greek and/or Roman Gods. Parties are another important aspect of the culture: they seem to thrive on a social life and have games throughout their reception. Music is also important as wedding ceremonies have mariachis play for an hour before the end of the wedding. Then the newly married couple continues partying with their family before they leave for their honeymoon.
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