Wedding Moo » Blog Archive » Double Happiness

Double Happiness

I have been wanting to do a posting on double happiness for a while. I could no longer delay when I saw these adorable, meaningful, colorful favors and stickers sold by Something Chinese eBay store.

doublehappiness

Double happiness has been a wedding custom in the Chinese culture for many many years. Its story dated back in the ancient Tang Dynasty. There was once a student who was on his way to attend the national final examination in the capital. Half way through the journey, he fell ill but thanks to a doctor and his daughter, he was taken to their house and cared for. The young man fell in love with the girl and when it was time to say good bye, the girl wrote down the right hand part of an antithetical couplet for the young man to match- “Green trees against the sky in the spring rain while the sky set off the spring trees in the obscuration.” The young man promised the girl he will come back to her for the left part.

The young man continued to the capital and won the first place in the examination. The emperor saw the talented young man and tested him to finish a couplet, which would need a right part as an answer. The emperor wrote – “Red flowers dot the land in the breeze’s chase while the land colored up in red after the kiss.” The young man quickly remembered the right part of the couplet given to him by the girl and he gave the girl’s part as the answer. The emperor was delighted with the answer and he granted the young man a minister seat in the court and allowed him to pay a visit to his hometown first before holding the post. The young man went back to see the doctor and married the girl. And at their wedding, the couple DOUBLED the chinese character – HAPPY, together, to express the happiness for these two events. From then on, double happiness has been part of the Chinese wedding culture.

Today you don’t have to be Chinese to appreciate this meaningful Chinese character.

bojwd1q2kkgrhgooki8ejllmy5yvbjtmgsg-9w_1