The Yugur people (an ethnic minority group in China) have a custom of the groom shooting three arrows (that don’t have arrowheads) at his bride.
He then breaks the arrows and the bow during the wedding ceremony, symbolizing that they will love and live with each other forever. The groom should shoot three arrows toward the direction of the sky and ground, symbolizing heaven and earth or the universe.
In some ethnic groups, they believed a story to be the source of this tradition: a husband, to protect his wife, shot three arrows to kill a monster, and gave up his own life.
From then on, grooms shoot three arrows to honor this great husband at weddings, also to imply that their own brides would always have brave husbands to protect them from evil. Nowadays, shooting the arrows mainly means praying for good luck in marriage and symbolizes the union of the two.
Traditional Chinese marriage is a ceremonial ritual within Chinese societies that involves a marriage established by pre-arrangement between families. Within the traditional Chinese culture, romantic love was allowed, and monogamy was the norm for most ordinary citizens.
A band of musicians with gongs and double-reed instruments accompanies the bridal parade to the groom’s home. They also play similar music at the wedding banquet.
Depending on the region from which the bride hails, Chinese weddings will have different traditions such as the Tea Ceremony or the use of a wedding emcee.
Also, in modern times, Chinese couples will often go to photo studios to take “glamour shots,” posing in multiple gowns and various backgrounds.
Most regional Chinese wedding rituals follow the main Chinese wedding traditions, although some rituals are particular to the peoples of the southern China region. In most southern Chinese weddings, they base the bride price on the groom’s economic status. “selling the daughter” or bride is not a phrase that is used often.
Therefore, the price of the bride does not be too demanding. Most of the time, the bride price is in the form of gold jewelry, fine fabric, money, or even a roast pig, which symbolizes that the bride is a virgin. Wedding presents are given by elderly couples or couples that are older than the newlyweds, while tea is served by the younger family members.
