Wedding Bells Are Ringing

In correspondence with Iris, my new best friend from China, I learned a lot about weddings in their culture. Iris told me a lot about her sister's recent wedding, and the various roles she played as the bride's sister. She explained to me that being the bridesmaid is a very busy job, since the traditional Chinese wedding is very complex. Each member of both family's departed three days before the wedding, to head to the wedding venue. By tradition, the wife's family has to take several items with them, like bamboo, red quilts, and a wooden axe. I was very surprised that they must take a wooden axe with them, so I asked Iris the significance of this item. She told me that the pronunciation of axe in Chinese is connected to good fortune, and that the axe is made out of peach wood because it is believed that peach wood can avoid evil and illness. She also told me that many people believe that an axe can withstand 100 disasters. Their superstitious beliefs reminded me of the superstitions surrounding weddings in the United States, like the throwing of the bouquet and carrying the bride over the threshold.

The biggest difference between American weddings and Chinese weddings, would have to be the role marriage plays. In America, marriage represents the unity of two people out of love and all that jazz, but in China, marriage represents the joining of two previously separated families. Since most families in China only have one child, the parents take more of an interest in who their child is marrying. In China, once the parents grow old, it is expected of the child to take care of them. Not the American idea of take care where we pay to put our parents in a nursing home, but to actually live with your parents and care for them. These cultural differences are what result in the divergent meanings of marriage.

Since I work at Men's Wearhouse as a tuxedo representative, and I have the very masculine job of setting up the attire for weddings, I found it very interesting to learn about the differences between weddings in our cultures. Overall, I noticed more similarities than differences. In America there are three parts to a wedding: the legalities, the ceremony, and a party. This is also true in China. Chinese citizens have to get their marriage authorized legally, there is a ceremony that is typically religious, and a huge party for all of the family and friends. Maybe we aren't so different after all *tear rolls down cheek*





Trundley, Alan P. "Chinese Marriage: Society, Customs and Ceremonies." N.p., n.d. Web.

Iris. "autobiography correspondence" 5 Nov. 2014. Email.