Chinese wedding traditions: 1. Bridal chamber decorations

Traditionally, only after the wedding, the newly married couple would move in together with the groom’s family, thus it is a great deal to prepare the wedding chamber for the new couples on a Chinese wedding. The newly decorated room (also referred to as bridal chamber or wedding chamber) is called “new home”(新房)in Chinese. This post will focus on the decorations in the bridal chamber.

中国传统讲究男女授受不亲， 在古老时代，很多男女甚至在结婚当天才第一次见面。 结婚以后，新郎新娘会一起住在婆家， 所以装潢“新房”是中国婚姻的一件大事。 关于装潢，有很多在中文里面代表吉利的元素，下面会一一列出来。

a. Chinese paper cut： 喜
The Paper-cut is an important Chinese ancient art, it dates back to the second century, it is also a very popular decoration in Chinese festivals. Specifically, on a Chinese wedding, the paper cut for the character 喜（representing happiness, celebration, 喜 in Chinese pronounces like “she”）is very common. In fact, to represent a couple join together and also to make it double happy, the paper cut decoration usually has two characters, it looks like 喜喜。

For more info about Chinese art paper cut, check here.

剪纸是中国古代艺术的一项重要发明。 在各个节日装潢上面，剪纸是少不了的，婚礼当天， 新郎新娘家里一般会贴着红红的喜字， 为了凸显夫妻成双的喜庆氛围，剪纸上面其实呈现的是双喜！

Red in Chinese culture means lucky, it can be easily found on Chinese New Year, weddings, and other occasions. Unlike western culture, white symbolizes virginity and purity, in Chinese culture, white is the color of mourning. It is associated with death and is used predominantly in funerals in Chinese culture. Ancient Chinese people wore white clothes and hats only when they mourned for the dead. Of course with globalization, Chinese brides also wear white wedding dresses.

在中国的各种传统节日里面，节日的装潢少不了“红”。 在西方文化里，白色象征纯洁，女孩结婚时穿着白白的婚纱代表纯洁的处女，然而在中国传统文化里面，白色服饰其实是在举行丧事的时候才会穿的。当然随着改革开放和中西文化的融合，中国的新娘也穿起了白色的婚纱。

b. The wedding pictures of the couple in the bedroom

All the Chinese couples go for professional wedding shooting before the wedding day, we call it pre-wedding shooting. Usually, they wear wedding dresses in different styles, or from different Chinese dynasties. On the wedding day itself, there are already tons of wedding photos around the house. Of course, there will be even more photo shooting during the wedding day itself, and afterward, a fancy video made by the wedding agency. Check my pre-wedding photo shooting on this blog post!

每一对新人结婚之前都会去拍结婚照，他们会穿上不同时代的婚纱，在不同的场景拍上很漂亮的婚纱照。 当然， 结婚当天也少不了更多的婚纱照，最后还会有一个很艺术的结婚视频。 中国人民的婚庆公司粉是厉害的！我自己的婚前婚纱照在这里!

c. Four kinds of food represent give birth to a son soon(zao sheng gui zi).
Date(枣）, peanuts（生）, longan（桂）, sunflower seeds（子）

d. Balloons
Chinese like to have balloons as wedding decorations, you can find them at random places with different shapes and combinations.
气球是中国婚礼上面的另外一个必不可少的装饰，大部分时候，气球被扎成不同的形状作为装饰。

e. Brand new sheets and blankets.
Everything in the bridal chamber will be new, it represents the new start of the married couple.
新婚，新房象征着新的开始，这意味着新房里的一切都应该是崭新的， 从床单到拖鞋再到家具。

你有要添加的吗？ 那就给我留言吧！

More about Traditional Chinese wedding:

0. Introduction
1. Wedding decorations
2. Gate crash
3. Tea ceremony
4. Chinese wedding outfit and Chinese sedan
5. Formal ceremony – Bai tang(拜堂)
6. Bridal chamber rituals
7. Wedding Proposal
8. Pre-wedding photo shooting(Behind the scenes)
9. Chinese wedding agency
10. Our wedding lunch menu
11. Our wedding program 1: Fetch the bride
12. Our wedding program 2: The lunch ceremony
13. Our final wedding video
14. The hazing of wedding couples – Naohun

Please subscribe.