Who knows what ghost marriage is?

Ghost marriage is to find a spouse for the dead. Some boys and girls died for some reason after they got engaged, but they didn't wait until they got married. At that time, the old people thought that if they didn't get married for them, their ghosts would do mischief and make the family uneasy. So we must hold a ghost wedding ceremony for them, and finally be buried together, become husband and wife, and be buried together. In case there are solitary graves in the fields of men and women. There are also boys and girls who are not engaged. Out of love and yearning for their children, the old people think that they failed to choose a spouse for them before their death and should marry them after their death to fulfill their responsibilities as parents. In fact, this is where people feel. In addition, in the old society, people generally believed in the so-called "geomantic omen" in cemeteries, believing that the appearance of orphan graves would affect the prosperity of future generations of family houses. At that time, some "Mr. Feng Shui" (known as "masked jade" in ancient times) strongly encouraged this ghost marriage in order to make more money. Ghost marriage often happens in noble or rich families, and poor families will never engage in such activities.

Ghost marriage existed before the Han Dynasty. Because ghost marriage consumes manpower and material resources in society and is meaningless, it was once banned. "Zhou Li" said: "It is forbidden to move and bury, and it is forbidden to marry and mourn." However, this trend has not been eliminated, and even some of it is directly manifested in the rulers. For example, when Cao Chong, Cao Cao's favorite son, died at the age of thirteen, Cao Cao hired the dead Miss Zhen as Cao Chong's wife and buried her with him.

Ghost marriage was the most popular in Song Dynasty. According to Kang's Dream of Yesterday, whenever an unmarried man or woman dies, his parents will ask a "ghost matchmaker" to act as a matchmaker and then perform divination. When divination is approved, they will each make a shroud for the ghost, hold a wedding and bury the man and the woman together.

"Biography of Yuan Nv" says: "If a son dies without a wife, he may be buried with the bones of his dead wife." "Biography of Ming Women" also contains: Yang died and his fiancee was martyred; Liu Bochun died, so did his hired daughter, and they were all buried together.

In the Qing Dynasty, with the strengthening of chastity, this custom of female martyrdom was still very popular. It was not until the impact of western spiritual civilization that feudal ethics gradually disappeared in the late Qing Dynasty.

There are still remnants of the custom of ghost marriage in Beijing at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, and there are also "happy events" in which individual families marry dead people, which are called "bone corpses", and the two in-laws of men and women are called "bone corpse relatives". In earlier years, this kind of "wedding" ceremony was mostly held at night. Sometimes, when people are sleeping peacefully, they are suddenly awakened by the drums in the street. It turns out to be a "skeleton". Carrying a paper sedan chair, the leader is a single drum, a single number and a single suona. Others don't need this form, but still use eight sedan chairs and all the golden lamps as deacons. It turned out that they only married a photo of a woman. After 1930s, there was a ceremony of "civilized marriage", in which a western band led the dance, and four people in the back carried a movie studio for the funeral, with photos of the "bride" hanging inside.

The ceremony of ghost marriage has never been established. Although ghost marriage is a happy event, the etiquette of red and white events is inevitably mixed. Much depends on the opinions of the parties. Therefore, the forms of ghost wedding instruments vary widely. A typical ghost wedding instrument is introduced in detail for your reference. But not all ghost marriages are handled in this way.

Generally speaking, ghost marriages also need to be introduced by matchmakers. The two sides have got married in the Life Hall and got the Dragon and Phoenix Post by sending the door post.

The setting is one-off, so there is no difference in size. Half of the gifts given by the man to the woman are real silks and satins, gold and silver treasures; Half of them are paper, cotton, clips and singlets, and there are two pairs of brocade boxes with earrings, bracelets, rings and hairpins. On the night of release, it will be incinerated in front of the woman's house or grave.

In the communication, the "goose cage", "wine sea", dragon and phoenix wedding cakes, elbows and happy fruits that the man gave the woman were all real, but clothes and jewelry were all buried with paper.

The dowry of a woman's dowry is usually paper. After it is delivered to the man, it is only displayed in front of the "groom" photo or memorial tablet for half a day, and some just walk around the man's yard, that is, under the guidance of drum music, it is sent to a nearby square for burning.

The above ceremonies are not always held in ghost weddings, but wedding ceremonies are essential. Today is a sunny day. Set up a shed to entertain relatives and friends and light a sedan chair in front of the door. In the happy room, "100%" God gives. There is a low table on the opposite side of the kang for the "groom" to take photos or set up a memorial tablet, with several plates of apples and dragon and phoenix cakes in front. There is also a big red flower with the words "groom" written on it with a ribbon.

The photo or memorial tablet of the bride in the woman's boudoir is the same as before, and there is a big red flower with the word "bride" written on it.

After the sedan chair arrives at the woman, the bride's photo or memorial tablet will be taken down by the bride-to-be's wife, and the sedan chair will be released by the married wife. At this time, the parents of the "bride" could not help crying loudly and chasing out of the house. This is not a happy occasion at all.

After the wedding car returns to the man, the married wife will still take out the photo or memorial tablet of the "bride" and put it on the altar on the kang in the wedding room, side by side with the "groom". Tie the two photos together with a red head rope (meaning the old man holding the red line) and attach red and yellow silk.

Only by marrying a wife and kowtowing to God "100%", even if the husband and wife worship heaven and earth. Then the waiter brought a glass of wine, descendants jiaozi and longevity noodles for the newlyweds to take photos or erect a monument.

If the "newlyweds" have younger brothers and sisters, brothers-in-law, etc. Call them out and kowtow to photos or memorial tablets. The two in-laws congratulated each other.

After the ceremony, choose a good day to be buried, and the woman can wake up. According to the time specified by the Yin and Yang Master, after the coffin is pivoted out, immediately pour a bucket of water into the pit and drop two apples. At the same time, raise the bonus notes. The same is true of the awakening ceremony without ghost marriage.

The man dug a hole by the grave to expose the groove of the coffin of the groom, buried the bride in the hole and buried the husband and wife together.

Buried, that is, in front of the grave, display wine and fruit, burn bonus paper money, and hold a wedding sacrifice. The father, mother and other family members (that is, the two in-laws) of both men and women cried and said "great joy".

From then on, it is convenient for men and women to communicate as in-laws.