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A Bride Crosses the Threshold
by Mo Rui Qiu
My language tutor received a phone call at 10:00am, in the
middle of our lesson, and our lesson plans suddenly changed!
She said, “Do you want to experience some local wedding day traditions?”

We went to the bride's home where she was sequestered in her bedroom with her girl friends. She was primping and looking in the mirror. A pile of household goods stood in the middle of the room: several thick blankets (one was made from hand woven traditional Zhuang cloth with a fuchsia silk center), a metal basin with new soap, combs, cups and other sundries, new sheets and pillows, a refrigerator box, and a washing machine box. It is traditional for a bride to take these things from her parents’ house to her new home.

The young ladies waited giddily for the groom and his friends. When the groom’s party came knocking at the room door, the bride's friends asked him

Carrying the Bride
The groom carries his bride across the threshold into their new home.

Jingxi, Guangxi
White Rice
A little boy jumps on the bed to bring good luck to the newlyweds.

Jingxi, Guangxi
hard questions, refusing to open the door. Finally, they made him sing a song in order to enter. When he finally made it in, he picked up his bride and carried her down the stairs and out the door. Friends and relatives followed carrying the traditional household items.

As the bride exited her parents' house, a relative gave her a cup of rice wine to drink. She took a sip and spit it over the threshold...repeating this two more times. Someone gave her a towel that she used to wipe her mouth and then threw it back inside. This ritual symbolizes her farewell to her ancestors and her complete exit from her parents’ household. Once she leaves her parents’ home, she cannot turn back.

The bridal party got into decorated cars, which later wound their way through town. At every intersection or road opening, someone threw firecrackers out the window of the car! Crack-Pop-Ka-boom repeated for the whole trip to the newlyweds’ apartment. More raucous firecrackers erupted at the new doorway!

I was surprised that they chose Thursday as a wedding day. My tutor explained that a local religious practitioner had calculated that this was the most auspicious day for their wedding. She could not exactly explain how he discerned that. All she knew was that it involved the bride and groom's birthdates. The incessant firecrackers were also connected to bringing good fortune, probably originating from efforts to ward off evil spirits.

Arriving at the new apartment, the groom again took his bride on his back and carried her up the stairs. Inside, they passed out candy, peanuts, and sugar cane. The sections of the sugar cane represent the progressive steps, or longevity, of the marriage. In the master bedroom, several married female relatives unpacked the new bedding. They painstakingly folded the blankets in thirds, piling them up at the head of the bed. There were at least four thick folded comforters stacked there, plus pillows! Then came the crowning moment: a little nephew, about one year old, came in to jump on the bed! This gesture wished the new couple success in conceiving a baby soon . . .and that it would be a boy. The chubby toddler was clueless to his charming powers!

Everyone insisted that I stay to have lunch at the new apartment, so I obliged. They were talking about the evening festivities that would follow. “So, this morning’s events are just the beginning of the party!” I thought.