Chinese Wedding Tea Ceremony
It s the quintessential chinese wedding tradition.
Chinese wedding tea ceremony. The chinese tea ceremony usually takes place on the day of the wedding in the homes of the bride and groom respectively. The tea ceremony is the most significant event in a modern chinese wedding as the traditional three prayers ceremony is usually not practiced. Chinese wedding tea ceremony. Chinese wedding tea ceremony 敬茶 in chinese is directly translated as to offer tea.
The bride is formally introduced to the groom s family through the chinese wedding tea ceremony. The groom s family should always be served first so the tea ceremony for his family is usually held in the morning after he has fetched her home. It includes very formal introductions of the bride and groom and shows respect to their families. Throughout the process good wishes and red angbaos will be given to the couple to extend their blessings to the couple.
The tea ceremony is usually hosted before the wedding on a lucky auspicious engagement date or on the wedding day at the couple s respective homes. The earliest written record of tea ceremonies emerged during the tang dynasty over 1200 years ago. This is a formal occasion to set up the relations between the new couple and the parents in laws. Historically after they exchanged vows the couple would serve tea to the groom s family the bride would have served tea privately to her own family that morning.
This time honored exchange was created to show respect for the family. Furthermore since tea drinking was prevalent during the song dynasty tea was also necessary for entertaining guests on the wedding day. The meaning of chinese wedding tea since tea symbolizes people s wishes for loyal love and a happy marriage it continued to play a part in the institution of marriage during the yuan 1271 1368 ad ming 1368 1644 ad and qing 1644 1912 ad dynasties. As the name indicates chinese wedding tea ceremony is held during the wedding ceremony.
Traditionally the tea ceremony for the groom s family is usually performed in the morning after the groom has fetched the bride home to his place. During the tea ceremony the couple will serve tea to both sides of the parents and elders in the family as a form of respect. In a traditional chinese wedding the tea ceremony is one of the most significant events.