What are the Chinese traditions to welcome your son's new wife into the family?

I have a new daughter-in-law who will be arriving in the US in 2 weeks and want to make her feel at home with her new family. I was unable to go to China for the wedding because my daughter delivered her baby prematurley amd I was needed here. I would like to include some traditional Chinese welcoming gesturesas well and the western ones.

Asked by az1 54 months ago Similar questions: Chinese traditions son's wife family Society.

Similar questions: Chinese traditions son's wife family.

Beyond simply learning a few welcoming words in Chinese you could consider: ...one possibility, to have a form of Chinese wedding banquet. A local Chinese restaurant could probably help you with menu planning. The following is a description of a full wedding banquet - you don't have to be this elaborate, but perhaps some aspects would be doable:"Chinese wedding banquets are known for their extravagance and grandness.

This feast is the most important part of the Chinese wedding day, and is viewed as the true wedding. Chinese food always bears a special symbolism: Mostly wishes of happiness, longevity, or fertility for the couple. The number of courses is also significant.At a Chinese wedding banquet, eight dishes are usually served, not including the dessert.

In Chinese, the word “eight”; sounds like “good luck”. Certain types of food are commonly served at a Chinese wedding banquet and include fish, roast-suckling pig, chicken cooked with red oil, lobster and a dessert bun with lotus seeds stuffed inside. The pronunciation of “fish” in Chinese is the same as “abundance”; meaning the newlyweds will be plentiful in their wealth.

Roast suckling pig is usually served whole, a symbol of the bride's purity. Chicken also means “phoenix” and is cooked in red oil to symbolize the wish for a prosperous life for the newlyweds. Lobster is literally called “dragon shrimp” in Chinese.

Having lobster and chicken served together at a wedding banquet means that the dragon and the phoenix are harmonious together. The dragon and phoenix is the perfect couple in Feng Shui.An emcee usually hosts the evening and alerts guests to important announcements. Between courses, the emcee entertains the guests while the wedding party takes turns playing tricks on the couple.

In addition to the traditional Western wedding gifts, couples at a Chinese wedding will be given small, red envelopes filled with money. The couple collects these packets from the guests as they visit the various tables, or guests can deposit the packets in a designated box. The highlight of the banquet is when the newlyweds, along with their immediate families, go around the restaurant and make a toast with every guest.

The path of this toast can start from the left or right side of all the guest tables, but they do not turn back on the path they choose.It is consider bad luck to turn back from the initial path. "--------------------------------http://chineseculture.about.com/library/symbol/blcc_welcome.htm shows the characters for "welcome" in Chinese. Perhaps a homemade banner when you greet her would be a nice thought.

The banner should be on a red background because red is the color of weddings in China (as well as being a lucky and protective color). According to http://www.worldweddingtraditions.com/locations/asian_traditions/chinese_traditions.html, Red is central to the wedding theme of China. It signifies love, joy and prosperity and is used in a variety of ways in Chinese wedding traditions.

The bride's wedding gown is often red, as are the wedding invitations, and wedding gift boxes or envelopes for cash gifts. Even the bride and groom's homes are decorated in red on the wedding day. --------------------------------If you want to give her a gift, wrap it in red paper and don't be surprised if she doesn't open it until later - opening a gift in front of the giver is considered rude in China.

According to http://www.chinatownconnection.com/chinese-wedding-gifts.htm, appropriate gifts to a son's new wife include include the following items: Li Shi Money (in a red envelope); jewelry; dragon-phoenix cakes; dried seafood and mushroom; poultry; fish; coconut; wine or liquor; a box of dried fruits; raw fruit; and tea. --------------------------------And just as in American culture, smiles and hugs are signs that you welcome her and are glad she has come to join your family. -------------------------------- Sources: http://chinetra.com/Weddings.html .

Combing the hair... and other Chinese wedding traditions Engagement Essentials (and we're not talking about diamonds) The presentation of betrothal gifts to the bride's family on an auspicious date is still very much widely practiced nowadays. Depending on which dialect group either party belongs to, the gifts vary. Usually, the gifts include a dowry of a token sum of money, different combinations of jewellery (for example, teochews require the 4 items of bracelet, earrings, necklace and ring) bridal cakes, mandarin oranges and liquor.

The more traditional families will include two pairs of candles, one in the likeness of a dragon and the other a phoenix. Betrothal gifts are not entirely kept by the bride's family however. Some will be returned to the groom's family, such as the pair of phoenix candles, and a few boxes of bridal cakes.

The rest of the cakes are distributed along to the bride's relatives and friends, as part of the invitation. Keeping the dowry As soon as the engagement is over, the bride can bring her dowry over to her new home. Typically, a bride's dowry will include practical items such as bedsheets and pillow-cases (no doubt in a bright fiery red).

One very important item --- a spittoon. In ancient times, a spittoon was an essential item (think of it as the attached bathroom) but now it's purely ceremonial. Usually it's placed in a corner of the room.

Jewellery and presents from relatives also form part of the bride's dowry. Setting the bridal bed (no naughty ideas here) Find a person of good fortune (usually gauged by the number of children he/she has) to move the bed slightly at an auspicious time. This sets the bed.

A red tray of dried food like lotus seeds, longan, lychee, etc is placed on the bed with a red packet . A boy should jump on the bed to bless the bed with, er, fertility. Once this is done, no one is supposed to touch the bed except the wedding couple on their wedding day.

Sources: singaporebrides.com/features/custom1.htm .

1 darwin, regarding your answer "Beyond simply learning a few welcoming words in Chinese you could consider:":Thank you very much for your response, you have provided lots of great suggestions. Namaste Yaana .

Darwin, regarding your answer "Beyond simply learning a few welcoming words in Chinese you could consider:":Thank you very much for your response, you have provided lots of great suggestions. Namaste Yaana.

2 newbie2268986, regarding your answer "Combing the hair... and other Chinese wedding traditions ":Thank you very much, I will incorporate some of these suggestions into events planned in the US.

Newbie2268986, regarding your answer "Combing the hair... and other Chinese wedding traditions ":Thank you very much, I will incorporate some of these suggestions into events planned in the US.

3 I compliment you on your willingness to go out of your way to make her feel welcomed.

I compliment you on your willingness to go out of your way to make her feel welcomed.

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I am looking for a title of a foreign film about a Chinese (?) family. The mother (or father) was the schoolteacher in a.

Step mother refuses to let father be in the same room with ex wife and doesn't allow him or his family to iteract as wel.

Movie about an artist and his wife staying with a family in the country where they are tempted to cheat on each other.

For instance, every Christmas my son gets a nutcracker and...

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.