"Cross-Cupped Wine”—Traditional Chinese Wedding Rite “交杯酒”——中国婚礼传统仪式

“交杯酒”：这是我国婚礼程序中的一个传统仪式。
"Cross-Cupped Wine": This is a traditional rite in Chinese wedding formality.
在唐代即有交杯酒这一名称，到了宋代，在礼仪上，盛行用彩丝将两只酒杯相连，并绾成同心结之类的彩结，夫妻互饮一盏，或夫妻传饮。这种风俗在我国非常普遍，如在绍兴地区喝交杯酒时，由男方亲属中儿女双全、福气好的中年妇女主持，喝交杯酒前，先要给坐在床上的新郎新娘喂几颗小汤圆，然后，斟上两盅花雕酒，分别给新婚夫妇各饮一口，再把这两盅酒混合，又分为两盅，取“我中有你，你中有我”之意，让新郎新娘喝完后，并向门外撒大把的喜糖，让外面围观的人群争抢。婚礼上的交杯酒：为表示夫妻相爱，在婚礼上夫妻各执一杯酒，手臂相交各饮一口。
There has been the term of “cross-cupped wine” since the Tang Dynasty. During the Song Dynasty, it was a prevailing practice to connect two wine cups together with colored silks and coil up a colored knot such as a true-lover’s knot for the bride and bridegroom to drink up each other’s wine cup or pass the wine cups and drink in turns. This custom is very common in our country. For example, in the area of Shaoxing, the rite of “cross-cupped wine” is presided over by a middle-aged woman, who has felicity with both son and daughter among the relatives of the bridegroom’s side. Before drinking the “cross-cupped wine”, the bride and bridegroom sitting on the bed will first be fed with several small sweet glutinous rice dumplings. Two cups will be poured with Huadiao rice wine and the newly wed couple will respectively take a sip. And then the remaining wine in the two cups will be mixed and divided into two cups again, which means that “I am in you and you are in me”. After they drink the wine, handfuls of wedding candies will be cast outside the door for the crowd of onlookers to scramble for. “Cross-cupped wine” in the wedding ceremony: In order to show the newly wed couples are in love with each other, they will respectively hold a cup of wine and cross their hands and each take a sip.