Traditional Chinese marriage
Okay kiddo, in traditional Chinese marriage, when a man and a woman like each other and want to get married, several things happen.
First, the guy's family will send a matchmaker to the girl's family to see if they'd make a good match. The matchmaker will consider things like education level, social status, and astrology signs.
If the matchmaker thinks the couple is a good fit, the guy's family will ask for permission to formally propose to the girl's family. If they say yes, the guy will bring gifts like tea and betrothal money (which is like a dowry) to the girl's family to show that he's serious about the proposal.
If the girl's family accepts the proposal, there will be a formal engagement ceremony where the couple exchange betrothal gifts. This is when the couple officially becomes engaged - not like boyfriend and girlfriend, but like they're going to get married for real!
During the engagement period, the couple won't live together or see each other very often. They'll spend most of their time preparing for the wedding ceremony.
Then finally, on the big day, there will be a very big and long wedding ceremony with lots of different ceremonies and traditions. Like wearing a red dress for the bride, and lighting candles and joss sticks for the gods.
After the wedding, the couple will move in together and start their new life as a married couple. And that, my little friend, is how traditional Chinese marriage works!
First, the guy's family will send a matchmaker to the girl's family to see if they'd make a good match. The matchmaker will consider things like education level, social status, and astrology signs.
If the matchmaker thinks the couple is a good fit, the guy's family will ask for permission to formally propose to the girl's family. If they say yes, the guy will bring gifts like tea and betrothal money (which is like a dowry) to the girl's family to show that he's serious about the proposal.
If the girl's family accepts the proposal, there will be a formal engagement ceremony where the couple exchange betrothal gifts. This is when the couple officially becomes engaged - not like boyfriend and girlfriend, but like they're going to get married for real!
During the engagement period, the couple won't live together or see each other very often. They'll spend most of their time preparing for the wedding ceremony.
Then finally, on the big day, there will be a very big and long wedding ceremony with lots of different ceremonies and traditions. Like wearing a red dress for the bride, and lighting candles and joss sticks for the gods.
After the wedding, the couple will move in together and start their new life as a married couple. And that, my little friend, is how traditional Chinese marriage works!