中国传统婚礼 Chinese Wedding

结婚是人生中的一件大事。传统的中式婚礼古朴而又热闹，隆重、喜庆并且礼节周全，场面的铺陈颇具特色，不过在现代，尤其是在城市里，已经很少见了。
 
花 轿是传统婚礼的核心内容之一。结婚时，新娘要坐在花轿里从娘家被抬到男方家中。花轿一般分四人抬，八人抬两种，又有“龙轿”“凤轿”之分。除去轿夫之外， 还有持笙锣、伞、扇等的随行人员，一般的轿队少则十几人，多则几十人，很是壮观。传统的中式婚礼中，新娘要蒙着红盖头，在伴娘的伴随下，由新郎手持的大红 绸牵着，慢慢地登上花轿。在新娘成花轿去往男方家里的途中，颠花轿是必不可少的热闹场面。轿夫一起左摇右摆使花轿不稳，新娘坐在里面也是左摇右晃。有的时 候，新郎甚至不得不代替新娘或者和新娘一起向众人抱拳施礼求饶，而这个时候，众人欢笑不止，实际上是为了增添新人成婚之日的喜庆气氛。
 
中 式传统婚礼的最重要的部分便是拜堂成亲。新人走到天地桌前，上面摆放有装满粮食的斗，斗的四周写上“金玉满斗”四个大字，以红纸封口，斗内四角放若干硬 币，以供拜完天地后看热闹的亲朋好友掏出来求取吉利之意。斗中要插一柏枝，枝上缀有铜钱，这个柏枝便被称作“摇钱树”。斗旁放一杆秤、一面镜、织布机杼、 一灯或一蜡烛。新郎在右，新娘在左，并肩站在天地桌前，执事人高声喊道：“一拜天地，二拜高堂，夫妻对拜”。民间的说法认为，男女只有在拜过天地后才能算 作是正式夫妻，因此对这个拜堂的仪式非常重视。还有民间习俗有这样有趣的研究，即如果新郎在结婚的当天因故不能拜天地，就让他的姐妹抱只公鸡来代替。 

坐完花轿、拜完天地、接下来新人要入洞房了。洞房是一直延续下来的叫法，新人入了洞房以后，按照习俗，新郎新娘的同辈亲友聚集在洞房里，对新郎新娘开一些充满暗示的玩笑。这时即便过头一点，新郎新娘也不会生气，而是想办法巧妙化解，因为亲朋好友闹洞房图的是高兴和热闹。
 
 
English introduction: Chinese Wedding 
Marriage is the most imp0rtant occasion in the whole life. In China, a traditional wedding is lively, ceremonious, and joyful. There are some unique features in this ceremony, but in modern society, especially in the cities, it is hardly seen any more.

The bridal sedan is the core of the traditional wedding. In wedding, the bride should sit in the sedan, then be lifted from her mother's home to her husband'  home. Generally, there are two kinds of sedan, that is ,four-lifter and eight-lifter, also divided into "dragon sedan" and "phoenix sedan". There are so many suites who  hold gongs, umbrellas, fans and so on, besides lifters, In group, there are more than ten people at least, and the occasion is very magnificent. In a traditional weddin, accompanied with a bridesmaid, the bride wearing a red veil and led  along by the bridesgroom who holds a red silk in his hand, enters the bridal sedan. On the way to the husband's home, lifters jolt the sedan as it is necessary in a joyful wedding. Lifters swing the sedan from left to right, causing the bride to sit unsteadily inside. Some times the bridegroom has to substitute for his bride or beg to everyone else, while all laugh to adding to the jubilance.
  
The wedding ceremony is the most imp0rtant part of a traditional Chinese wedding. The newlyweds go to the table for heaven and earth where there is a dou(a kind of basket)full of grain. The dou is written with red paper. There are many coins placed in the four corners of the dou to provide the "luck" meaning to the guests. There is a cypress branch, called "ready source of money", decorated with copper coins. Besides, one steelyard ,a mirror ,a loom, a lamp or a candle  are also  placed near the dou. Afterwards, the groom stand on the left side, the bride right by his side, while the director prompts, "First bow to the heaven and earth; second bow to the parents; third bow to each other". According to the folk saying, they will not be the formal couple until bowing to the heaven and earth. As a result, people pay a great attention to this ceremony. An interesting custom is that if the groom cannot come to this ceremony, he should ask his sister to hold a cock instead.
  
After taking the bridal sedan, bowing to the heaven, it's time for the newlyweds to go to the bridal chamber. According to custom, their relatives and friends get together in the bridal chamber to banter the newly weds. At this time, the newlyweds will never get angry even if the teasing games are a bit  outrageous, but will try to skillfully dissolve since the relatives and friends intend to delight them.