I am back with more Chinese Wedding posts! This week I am going to write about the combing hair ceremony. Do check out my Chinese tea ceremony and wedding gifts if you missed those!
Why it is necessary for hair combing (梳頭, shūtóu)?
Chinese believe that it will bring long and lasting marriage. So both bride and groom will have their own hair combing ceremony.
When should it be done?
It is conducted on the eve of the wedding by the women, typically the parents.
In this photo of my aunty, the ceremony is done before the groom came to fetch the bride. Both parents said the four blessings:
一梳梳到尾 (1st combing, be together till the end of the road)
二梳百年好合 (2nd combing, happiness and harmony together till old age)
三梳子孙满堂 (3rd combing, blessed with many children and grandchildren)
四梳白发齐眉 (4th combing, blessed with longevity)
When it was my wedding, my parents didn’t do the hair combing ceremony as they had not bought any over in UK. So my parents helped me wear the veil before the wedding. I don’t have any photos to share as no one had took the photos for us while we are inside the hotel room. Such a shame.
After the hair combing ceremony, both bride and groom shower with water infused with pomelo or pomegranate leaves and change into a new set of clothing and shoes. Then each will eat a bowl of sweet soup of pink glutinous balls called tang yuan (湯圓) to wish the couple a complete and sweet marriage. Of course, these traditions have not been widely practise as modern day people tend not to stick with tradition.
What do you need for the hair combing ceremony?
For male:
- Pointed comb
- Mirror
- Red string
- Ruler
- Pair of dragon and phoenix candles
- Lian zi, red dates, Tang Yuan in either 6 or 9 pieces
- Fruits and meat
For female:
- Round comb
- Mirror
- Red string
- Sewing kit
- Ruler
- Pair of dragon and phoenix candles
- Lian zi, red dates, Tang Yuan in either 6 or 9 piece
- Fruits and meat
(This information is from http://www.goldenhappiness.com.sg/hair_combing.html)
For my sisters wedding, my mother helped her put on her veil as my dad had passed away. So it does not always need two people to do it.
Next week, I will write about Yue Lao who is a god of marriage and love in Chinese mythology.
