Chinese Culture

The Chinese like all other nations have a very unique culture. I decided to write about it because I am taking a class on Chinese family and kinship. It is a very interesting class and one of the topics we cover is marriage rituals. The bride and groom do not actually see each other until they are married. First the 8 characters of the bride and groom are put on a table and checked to see if they match. The 8 characters are the hour,day,month, and year the person is born in with 2 characters for each one. Next if the match is accepted by the heavens the groom's family sends the bride's family gifts called bridewealth. The bride's family gives some gifts to the new couple called dowry. Once the gifts are given, there is a 3 day celebration where the families feast. On the final day, the bride moves into her new home. As the bride is leaving, her father slams the door behind her so the family's fortune doesn't leave with the bride. The bride is carried to the groom's house on a chair(this was an old custom, brides are now taken by cars most of the time). The bride's feet cannot touch the ground until she gets to her new house. More on this another time.