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Picking up the bride
2013-06-03
The Hakka have a unique wedding custom known as "picking up the bride". After the groom and an escort team arrives at the bride's home, the bride shall stand on a rice huller screen placed in the doorway, upon which the ba gua (the eight trigrams of Taoism) are painted, and put on a pair of new shoes.
The custom is called "pass the rice huller screen". It is a symbol of leaving the earth of the bride's parents' home and starting a new life that will bring wealth to the husband's home.
The bride will then be carried on the husband's back as they exit the house. When the bride reaches the sedan, her brother will splash a bowl of water on the sedan, signifying that a married daughter is like thrown-out water. Then, the bride will begin wailing aloud to express her sadness.
Having arrived at the husband's home, the bride will have to stride across a flaming charcoal furnace, a symbol known as "booming". Following that, wedding ceremony procedures will be carried out.