Here are more of the pre-wedding rituals:
1. Return Present
The bride's family usually returns half of the present to the groom's family. There should be tea, fruit, Japan cypress, lucky money, ube, ginger, guava and towels, all in pairs.
Presents to be given to the son-in-law include trousers, belt, purse (with lucky money inside), a pair of shoes, part of the money, Chinese pastry and cake, and one betel-nut.
2. The Bride's Gift for the Groom
The bride's gifts for the groom will either arrive a couple of days or at least a day before the wedding. The dowry in large and small boxes gives the girl's family the opportunity to display both their social status and their love for their daughter.
The bride's gifts usually consist of valuable jewellery and something symbolizing good fortune.
3. Setting Up the Bridal Bed
After the groom's family has selected a 'good day' as the wedding day, a man who's considered to have good fortune all through his life will be hired to move the bridal bed to the right place. Then a lady who's considered to have good fortune (with healthy and living husband and sons) will make the bed and place certain good fortune food and fruits on the bed. Then the bed will be left untouched until the day of the wedding.
(My mom said that it is very important to follow this ritual. Joe and I had already bought brand new Egyptian Cotton 500 Thread Count Sheets for this ritual.)
4. Combing Hair
The night before the wedding, both the bride and the groom needs to find a 'good fortune' woman and man (usually relatives of the new couple who have son, daughter, a nice marriage and living parents) to comb their hair in his/her home respectively. The groom needs to do this one-hour before the bride does so.
Both the bride and the groom need to bath themselves and dress in brand new underwear and pajamas and sit by a window where they can look out to the moon before the event. Incense needs to be burnt. Moreover, lotus, dates and sweet dumplings are served in 6 or 9 in a bowl. There are also fruits and roasted pork and chicken prepared. Furthermore, both the groom and bride have to prepare ruler, mirror and scissors for the ceremony symbolizing good generation.
Their hair needs to be combed four times and each has a special meaning.
The first combing symbolizes: from beginning till the end.
The second combing symbolizes: harmony from now till old age.
The third combing symbolizes: sons and grandsons all over the place.
The fourth combing summaries: good wealth and a long-lasting marriage.
The whole action also symbolizes the adulthood of the couple and wishes them a happy marriage.
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