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.
Showing posts with label Marriage Ceremonies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marriage Ceremonies. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Marriage Ceremonies: Mexican Wedding
For a Mexican wedding, on the big day, the bride has her hair and nails done at a beauty salon before she goes home and has her female family members help her with her dress. The groom does not need all of these things done--he just has to worry about wearing a tuxedo.
A driver goes to pick up both the groom in the bride in a car that has been decorated on the outside with flowers. The couple has their picture taken while a video cameraman follows them around from this point on. The couple has their photos taken by professionals--sometimes they have it at a studio and sometimes they go out into a garden. The location(s) of the photos depends on the couple's preferences.
Most people are Roman Catholic in Mexico but Mexico will not recognize a religious wedding so the couple must have a civil ceremony. This civil ceremony can take place before or after the religious one. Most couples have the civil and religious ceremonies on the same day but this is also depends on the wishes of the couple.
With the civil ceremony a judge talks about marriage and then the couple and the judge will sign a document that proclaims the couple husband and wife. They need four witnesses to sign the document as well and these witnesses are usually close family and friends. Not many people need to or ususally do attend this ceremony.
For the religious ceremony that is common in Mexico, the groom arrives first at the church and he awaits the bride at the altar. The bride enters with a wedding march and with her father walking her down the church aisle. When the bride reaches the groom the couple walks to the priest together and he says a blessing. The couple says their vows and the priest asks a series of questions to which the bride and the groom respond "I do". The couple then exchange rings. The groom gives thirteen "arras" to the bride. These are gold coins that symbolize hard work and good administration skills over their income. Then large rosary beads are placed around their shoulders symbolizing love and unity. Rosary beads are usually used in prayer and religious practices of Catholics. They have a certain number of beads and a cross with Jesus on the end of the necklace. The bride then puts a bouquet of her choosing at feet of Virgin of Guadalupe to thank her and to pray to her for their marriage. After this the guests are welcome to cheer and congratulate the couple. The bride sometimes carries two bouquets.
Following this ceremony is usually a reception. Usually, the newly wed couple enters the reception party after the guests have all arrived. They dance to a song that is considered their song, they dance with their parents, and then they dance among guests. Food is served at the reception. The food can vary depending on the couple but there is usually a soup made by cream and vegetables with the main dish being meat, vegetables, and mash potatoes. The dessert varies and depends on the decisions of the bride and groom or their family. In small towns, the meal is usually a pork, chicken, or beef casserole with rice and refried beans. The wedding cake is served towards the end of the ceremony.
The couple play a variety of games at their ceremony. The games vary but they are usually to the benefit of the couple. The bride does usually throw her bouquet for single ladies to catch and the groom tosses the garter he got from the bride to single men.
At the very end of the reception, Mariachis play traditional Mexican music. This is usually an hour long.
After the reception is an after party at the bride's parent's house. This location can vary but it is usually at this person's house. This party is only for family. The family has a good time interacting with each other by talking, laughing, and singing. At the end of this party the couple says goodbye to their family and they head out on their honeymoon.
A honeymoon is a trip (the location depends on the couple) where the couple are alone together and allowed to bond together.
There can be other elements added to the Mexican wedding depending on different regions acorss Mexico.
Mexican Wedding Traditions
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/10/wedding-traditions_n_1955223.html
A driver goes to pick up both the groom in the bride in a car that has been decorated on the outside with flowers. The couple has their picture taken while a video cameraman follows them around from this point on. The couple has their photos taken by professionals--sometimes they have it at a studio and sometimes they go out into a garden. The location(s) of the photos depends on the couple's preferences.
Most people are Roman Catholic in Mexico but Mexico will not recognize a religious wedding so the couple must have a civil ceremony. This civil ceremony can take place before or after the religious one. Most couples have the civil and religious ceremonies on the same day but this is also depends on the wishes of the couple.
With the civil ceremony a judge talks about marriage and then the couple and the judge will sign a document that proclaims the couple husband and wife. They need four witnesses to sign the document as well and these witnesses are usually close family and friends. Not many people need to or ususally do attend this ceremony.
For the religious ceremony that is common in Mexico, the groom arrives first at the church and he awaits the bride at the altar. The bride enters with a wedding march and with her father walking her down the church aisle. When the bride reaches the groom the couple walks to the priest together and he says a blessing. The couple says their vows and the priest asks a series of questions to which the bride and the groom respond "I do". The couple then exchange rings. The groom gives thirteen "arras" to the bride. These are gold coins that symbolize hard work and good administration skills over their income. Then large rosary beads are placed around their shoulders symbolizing love and unity. Rosary beads are usually used in prayer and religious practices of Catholics. They have a certain number of beads and a cross with Jesus on the end of the necklace. The bride then puts a bouquet of her choosing at feet of Virgin of Guadalupe to thank her and to pray to her for their marriage. After this the guests are welcome to cheer and congratulate the couple. The bride sometimes carries two bouquets.
Picture 5,
Five Wedding Traditions for Cultural Ideas Post, OneWed Blog, 28 Nov 2011. Accessed on 29 April 2014. http://www.onewed.com/cultural/blog/5-more-wedding-traditions-from-around-the-world
Following this ceremony is usually a reception. Usually, the newly wed couple enters the reception party after the guests have all arrived. They dance to a song that is considered their song, they dance with their parents, and then they dance among guests. Food is served at the reception. The food can vary depending on the couple but there is usually a soup made by cream and vegetables with the main dish being meat, vegetables, and mash potatoes. The dessert varies and depends on the decisions of the bride and groom or their family. In small towns, the meal is usually a pork, chicken, or beef casserole with rice and refried beans. The wedding cake is served towards the end of the ceremony.
The couple play a variety of games at their ceremony. The games vary but they are usually to the benefit of the couple. The bride does usually throw her bouquet for single ladies to catch and the groom tosses the garter he got from the bride to single men.
At the very end of the reception, Mariachis play traditional Mexican music. This is usually an hour long.
After the reception is an after party at the bride's parent's house. This location can vary but it is usually at this person's house. This party is only for family. The family has a good time interacting with each other by talking, laughing, and singing. At the end of this party the couple says goodbye to their family and they head out on their honeymoon.
A honeymoon is a trip (the location depends on the couple) where the couple are alone together and allowed to bond together.
There can be other elements added to the Mexican wedding depending on different regions acorss Mexico.
Mexican Wedding Traditions
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/10/wedding-traditions_n_1955223.html
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Marriage Ceremonies: Traditional Chinese Ceremony
At the wedding ceremony of a traditional Chinese Marriage Ceremony, the bride and groom first bow three times. The first bow is to heaven and the earth, the second is for their parents, and the third bow is for each other. Some families have the male shoot three arrows for good luck as well. The highlight of the ceremony occurs as the groom unveils the bride. This is important because the bride shows her face to the wedding guests for the first time on her wedding day. Up until this point, her face has remained covered. The Tea Ceremony follows this Wedding Ceremony. With the Tea Ceremony, the bride and groom's parents sit down and the bride and groom serve their parents tea. Sometimes the grandparents, aunts, and uncles are included with the parents and the bride and groom must serve all of these people. The parents give red envelopes that contain cash and/or jewelry to symbolize their wish for the couple's future happiness. The Tea Ceremony officiates the new relationship status of the newly wedded couple. It allows the couple to address their inlaws as mother and father rather than Mr. and Mrs.
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/fall09/Zhang_x/ceremony.html
http://ccmusa.org/u2u/u2u.aspx?id=200206
Picture 1,
File: Traditional Chinese Wedding
Ceremony. Jpg, 19 March 2010. Accessed 29 April 2014. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Traditional_Chinese_wedding_ceremony.jpg
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/fall09/Zhang_x/ceremony.html
http://ccmusa.org/u2u/u2u.aspx?id=200206
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