Guest Author - Caroline Baker

After having received a few requests to talk about Chinese Weddings, I’d like to start by saying there are many traditions and subcultures represented when we say the word Chinese. Likewise, there are many variations to a Chinese Wedding depending on where your family came up, their social standings, and what "generation" you belong to.

In general, Chinese Weddings characterize a few of the same concepts and themes regardless of what specific customs the family followed:

* Marriage is not just a marriage of two individuals but of two families. Not much different from the Western cultures, Chinese families are involved in many of the aspects and rituals of the wedding. Particular attention is paid towards the parents and distinguishing the groom’s side and the bride’s.

* Marriage is a time for luck and happiness. All weddings that I know of around the world carry symbols of luck to wish the couple happiness in their new lives together. For many Chinese, this includes, but is not limited to:
- Red envelopes and many red decorations and clothing
- Chickens and eggs, to help represent birth and hopes for sons
- Food, which makes its way into almost all Chinese celebrations, the more elaborate the better
- Double happiness symbol on everything
- Avoiding all bad luck words or symbols such as: words that sound like death in Chinese (e.g., the number 4, anything to do with time), anything that is broken or uneven, anything that is only 1/2 of a ring or showing things incomplete

* Marriage is a time to show off how rich and prosperous both sides are. This is done through the elaborate banquets and gifts given, the multitude of dresses worn, and the number of guests invited. As in many cultures, the more lavish the better.

With this basic foundation established, I’ll go into more details about specific Chinese Wedding traditions in the next article.