A traditional Kwa is a heavily embroidered formal wedding gown popular in Southern China. It is a tradition to wear a Cheongsam with a red dragon & phoenix design at the wedding day. Dragon & Phoenix symbolize the balance of male and female power.
The color red is considered good luck, a strong color that can keep away evil spirits. The traditional Chinese wedding dress in northern China usually is a one-piece frock named Qi Pao, embroidered with elaborate gold and silver designs. Brides from southern China usually wear a two-piece dress named Qun Gua, Kwa or Cheongsam, also elaborately adorned with a golden phoenix and dragon. In the old days, a piece of red veil was part of the bride's costume to cover her face during the wedding ceremony. Newlyweds would see each other's face for the first time on their wedding night.
....and here's another important tradition during a chinese wedding day:
Chinese Wedding Tea Ceremony :
When the bride finally goes out to ascend the car, a bridesmaid will hold a red umbrella over her head, meaning "raise the bark, spread the leaves." Other relatives will scatter rice, red beans and green beans on her. The red umbrella protects the bride from evil spirits, and the rice and beans are to attract the attention of the gold chicken. When the bridal sedan ( motorcade nowadays) arrives at the groom's home, firecrackers and music with gongs and drums greet the bride. The bride will leap over an iron basin with lit charcoal inside. It is a ritual to bring prosperity and keep evils away.
Then at the official ritual that equals to the wedding vow in a western wedding, the newlyweds kneel three times, to heaven and earth, to the ancestral tablets and to their parents. The two then bow to each other. The bride then presents tea to the parents and relatives in sequence of seniority. Those who receive the tea, usually give the bride gifts such as jewelry or Li Shi money wrapped in a red envelope. Thus it's the end of the ritual and the wedding proceeds to the banquet venue.
Then at the official ritual that equals to the wedding vow in a western wedding, the newlyweds kneel three times, to heaven and earth, to the ancestral tablets and to their parents. The two then bow to each other. The bride then presents tea to the parents and relatives in sequence of seniority. Those who receive the tea, usually give the bride gifts such as jewelry or Li Shi money wrapped in a red envelope. Thus it's the end of the ritual and the wedding proceeds to the banquet venue.
...finally our own observations during a chinese wedding:
Since we had the privilege to attend a Chinese Wedding Banquet this past weekend, we also noticed that the elderly guests are playing mahjongg before dinner and the bride will change her outfit at least 4/5 times to show off her wealth. What we didn't know was the tradition, that each wedding guest (we were around 250) has to get her/his picture taken with the bride & groom in each of their outfits (luckily in groups of 10) meaning - during several hours this felt more like a red carpet press event than an actual romantic wedding - we didn't start dinner before at least 5 hours into the festivities, making most of the westerners ready to fight over an almond or chew on the table cloth - conclusion - for the next event we will be better prepared, stuffing our stomachs way ahead of time and arrive late...still, it was a day to remember and it's never a waste to learn something new.
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