The Blessing from the Elder
In the previous five posts, I shared the items that are essential and which are prepared by the brides themselves. In this article, I’ll discuss some items that, while not strictly speaking “necessary,” you will invariably receive as a gift from family elders: gold accessories.
Why Gold Accessories but Not the Other Material?
People in Western countries usually use diamond rings as proposals and wedding rings as diamond is thought to be the toughest material in the world. Using it to make rings the love between couples will not be destroyed by anything. People in Eastern countries also believe in it, so some teenagers also use diamond rings as wedding rings. However, in a traditional Chinese wedding, the elders will still choose to buy gold accessories, mainly for brides, as a blessing to their offspring, and the couples would barely buy gold accessories themselves. Parents, grandparents, or older relatives always give all the gold accessories.
* During the wedding process, the parents of the newlyweds will help the bride wear gold bracelets.
Chinese proverb: “Pure gold does not fear furnace.” This implies that real gold can withstand fire without being damaged. In Chinese, the meaning of gold is comparable to that of the diamond, which stands for sturdiness and strength. As a result, elders always send gold items to young newlyweds as a blessing, signifying that the couple would be a great fit and that their love and romance would be as powerful as gold.
However, besides blessing, there are also some “realistic” reasons behind it. The foremost reason is a bit sad, but also the situation applied in the current society – the display of wealth status. Yes, it is a little sad when romance and financial success are linked. Chinese people place a high value on reputation-building and expect everything involving “audiences” to be decent. The gold accessories given by the bridegroom’s family imply how affluent they are. In contrast, the bride’s family’s gold accessories represent an implicit “battle” over the social standing of the female family.
* The typical accessories gifted by the newlyweds’ parents.
Nevertheless, the bride’s family’s gold gifts have another “practical purpose” by helping to save “money” for the daughter. When a daughter marries, she no longer belongs to the original family; instead, she becomes the husband’s family’s daughter-in-law. In other words, even if their daughter encountered difficulties, her parents would no longer support her. When the spouse and his family stop caring for her, buying their daughter gold accessories would enable her to sell them and make money.
The Accessory Types and “Rules”
As mentioned, the gold accessories will be gifts from both the bride and groom’s families. There are typically three varieties:
- “Xian Gin” (the Chinese word for “3”)
- “Si Gin” (the Chinese word for “4”)
- “Wu Gin” (the Chinese word for “5”)
The quantity determines the kind of gold jewelry the bridegroom’s family presents. “Xan Gin” includes the gold ring, the gold earrings, and the gold necklace; “Si Gin” and “Wu Gin” are the basics of “Xian Gin” with the add-on of the gold bracelet and anklet, respectively. Generally, the bridegroom’s family will prepare “Si Gin” for their future daughter-in-law. However, if the bridegroom’s family is wealthier, they would additionally prepare gold headpieces and more than one pair of gold bracelets to make everything look more affluent. Therefore, there is a saying in Chinese: The more gold you receive from the husband’s family, the luckier and happier wife you are.
* The gifts from the bridegroom’s family of a Hong Kong artist, Shiga Lin. With seven pairs of gold bracelets, a gold pig necklace, a pair of gold earrings, and a gold headpiece.
The Deeping Meaning
This is merely a broad overview of the gold jewelry and accessories. But each gold accessory’s design has a certain significance. If you want to learn the significance of each gold thing behind it, read my next post!