The Custom of Crying Marriage
A traditional matrimonial custom of China’s Sichuan Province
Source : Beijing International Travel Website
“….According to elderly people, every bride had to cry at the wedding . Otherwise, the bride's neighbors would look down upon her as a poorly cultivated girl and she would become the laughingstock of the village. In fact, there were cases in which the bride was beaten by her mother for not crying at the wedding ceremony……… In west Sichuan Province, the custom is called "Zuo Tang (Sitting in the Hall)". Usually, the bride begins to cry a month before the wedding day. As the night falls, the bride walks inside the hall and weeps for about an hour. Ten days later, her mother joins her, crying together with her.; Another ten days later, the grandmother joins the daughter and mother, to cry together with them. The sisters and aunts of the bride, if she has any, also have to join the crying……..”
Isn’t that marriage suppose to be an auspicious and happy affair ? Me still no comprehendo why the women need to do all these unnecessary and pretentious crying. Crying for social acceptance ? Crying to acknowledge that the future is fatalistic once the knot is tied ? Or was it to showcase to Beijing Olympic’s tourists the greatness of China’s glorious cultural heritage ? Although I find the custom interesting, but it simply doesn’t make sense to me why it is still being practice today. Not wanting to be culturally insensitive, but I still think this blind continuation of cultural absurdities is weird and inappropriate. This is 21st century, why regressed to the olden era and bounded by inappropriate and outdated custom ? Well, maybe crying babies can get the milk. But what do crying brides get ? spermatozoa ?
Read HERE for the complete news article.
“….According to elderly people, every bride had to cry at the wedding . Otherwise, the bride's neighbors would look down upon her as a poorly cultivated girl and she would become the laughingstock of the village. In fact, there were cases in which the bride was beaten by her mother for not crying at the wedding ceremony……… In west Sichuan Province, the custom is called "Zuo Tang (Sitting in the Hall)". Usually, the bride begins to cry a month before the wedding day. As the night falls, the bride walks inside the hall and weeps for about an hour. Ten days later, her mother joins her, crying together with her.; Another ten days later, the grandmother joins the daughter and mother, to cry together with them. The sisters and aunts of the bride, if she has any, also have to join the crying……..”Isn’t that marriage suppose to be an auspicious and happy affair ? Me still no comprehendo why the women need to do all these unnecessary and pretentious crying. Crying for social acceptance ? Crying to acknowledge that the future is fatalistic once the knot is tied ? Or was it to showcase to Beijing Olympic’s tourists the greatness of China’s glorious cultural heritage ? Although I find the custom interesting, but it simply doesn’t make sense to me why it is still being practice today. Not wanting to be culturally insensitive, but I still think this blind continuation of cultural absurdities is weird and inappropriate. This is 21st century, why regressed to the olden era and bounded by inappropriate and outdated custom ? Well, maybe crying babies can get the milk. But what do crying brides get ? spermatozoa ?
Read HERE for the complete news article.
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