Abstract: Because of differences in material base, social organization structure, values and religious beliefs, China and Britain have different traditional marriage customs. Starting with the origin of wedding in both China and Britain, this paper gives a contrastive study of differences in Chinese and British traditional marriage customs from the aspect of the preparation for the wedding, the wedding ceremony, wedding banquet, and the dress. The aim of the study is to get a deep insight into the traditional Chinese and British culture, and promote cultural communication between different countries. The deep comparison of marriage customs can help people understand the mankind history and explore the basic law of social development through the complicated marriage customs.

Key words: The traditional marriage customs；Preparations for the wedding；Wedding ceremony； Wedding dress；Wedding feast

CONTENTS

Abstract

中文摘要

1.Introduction1

2.The Origin of Wedding. 1

2.1The Origin of Wedding in China 

2.2 The Origin of Wedding in Britain

3.The Differences of Wedding Customs 2

3.1 The Preparations of Wedding2

  3.1.1 The Preparations of Wedding in China

  3.1.2 The Preparations of Wedding in Britain

3.2The Wedding Ceremony 3

  3.2.1The Wedding Ceremony of China

  3.2.2The Wedding Ceremony of Britain

3.3The Clothing of Wedding5

  3.3.1The Clothing of Wedding in China

  3.3.2The Clothing of Wedding in Britain

3.4Wedding Feast6

  3.4.1Wedding Feast of China

  3.4.2Wedding Feast of Britain

4.The Reasons of Differences in Wedding Customs7

4.1 The Difference in Material Base

  4.2 The Difference in Social Organization Structure

  4.3 The Difference in Values

4.4 The Difference in Religious Beliefs

5.Conclusion9

Bibliography10

Acknowledgements11