The beauty of wedding season

(Baonghean) - After 15 years of implementing Decision 308/2005/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister on weddings, funerals and festivals according to the new cultural lifestyle, many wedding models according to the new cultural lifestyle have appeared in the province with many good and meaningful ways, creating a spreading influence in the community...

Good ways

Before 2000, due to the limitations in people's awareness and viewpoints, most weddings were held in a grand manner, with hundreds of tables, eating and drinking for 2-3 days... causing waste, expense and disorder. Faced with this situation, the Party Committee and the government of Dien Hung commune (Dien Chau) launched a movement of "wedding according to the new cultural lifestyle", encouraging families to hold weddings at the commune's cultural house, with no more than 20 tables, and no alcohol or cigarettes.

Washing the bride and groom's feet at the foot of the stairs at a Thai wedding (Tay Muong group). Photo: Cao Dong

At first, it was very difficult to implement, because people were used to organizing lavish events at home. With the mobilization, persuasion and mandatory regulations, and at the same time setting an example for cadres and party members, in 2000, Dien Hung commune had its first new cultural wedding at the commune cultural house of Mr. Le Hoang and Ms. Cao Lan. The commune Cultural Committee took charge of organizing everything from decoration, speakers, tables and chairs, music, candy, and fruits, with the cost only being 500,000 VND.

The most solemn and touching part of the wedding ceremony was when the newlyweds offered flowers and incense at the commune's memorial. At the wedding, witnessed by both sides of the family, close friends, the chairman of the commune People's Committee gave a congratulatory speech and personally presented the marriage certificate to the couple. The entire procedure only took about 40 minutes but left an impression on the people, while saving tens of millions of dong for the homeowner.

Mr. Cao Linh (village 7) said: Both his son and daughter held their weddings at the commune cultural house. This type of wedding is civilized, the family does not have to worry much about the cost, and the commune leaders bless them and give them a solemn marriage certificate. Currently, the commune government no longer has to mobilize, but the Dien Hung people are used to having their weddings held at the cultural house, compact but warm and happy. The salty party is also only invited to relatives in the self-governing group, with a total of 20 trays or less, so it is not as expensive as before.

An old wedding. Photo: Internet

After 15 years of implementation, more than 600 weddings in Dien Hung commune have been held at the commune and hamlet cultural houses. Ms. Le Thi Thuy - Head of the Cultural Committee of Dien Hung commune said: The weddings held at the commune and hamlet cultural houses all aim at the following goals: The wedding must be held in accordance with the provisions of the law on marriage and family, the law on registration and management of household registration, the wedding must be organized simply, healthily, without ostentation or waste, in accordance with customs and practices. The movement has spread and received the unanimous response of the majority of people.

The matchmaker performs the bride's headdress ceremony at a Thai wedding in Con Cuong. Photo: Huu Vi

Nghi Hop Commune (Nghi Loc) is also a bright spot in implementing cultural weddings. Visiting the family of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien (born in 1980) and Mr. Do Hoang Long (born in 1976), the first couple to register their wedding according to the new cultural lifestyle in Nghi Hop Commune. In the spacious and cozy house, Ms. Hien opened her wedding photos and said: In 2006, both husband and wife had stable jobs (Ms. Hien was a teacher at Nghi Hop Secondary School, Mr. Long was working in Vinh). When the couple decided that their wedding would be held at the Commune Cultural House, all friends and relatives were surprised. Because in the opinion of many people, the wedding day is the most important day of life, it is impossible not to invite friends and relatives to "a glass of wine". At first, both the paternal and maternal sides did not agree, but both were convinced that a wedding according to the new cultural lifestyle would be less expensive, and the commune government would organize it, the youth union would take care of the speakers, tables and chairs, and the MC, so the family would not have to worry much... In the end, Hien - Long's happy day became a festival for the whole commune. Because never before in the commune had a wedding with so many attendees and so solemn. In addition to friends and relatives, there were also people who came out of curiosity to see what a wedding according to the new cultural lifestyle would be like. As for Hien, until now, the feeling is still the same: it was a wedding that was both solemn and warm with family.

Wedding following the new lifestyle in Nghia Binh (Tan Ky). Photo: Tran Canh Yen

After Hien - Long's wedding at the Commune Cultural House, many other weddings also chose this place as the venue for their happy day.

Talking with Mr. Nguyen Dinh Cuong - Cultural Officer of Nghi Hop commune, it is known that in the past, when weddings had not yet been implemented according to cultural lifestyle, many families were in debt for a long time because of the wedding. That is why children's weddings were lavish and flashy for 2-3 days, after the wedding, people worked hard to pay off the debt, then quarrels arose... Knowing that, but propagating to make people aware, understand and implement it is not easy. Like in Nghi Hop commune, with the method of integrating in meetings, through the commune's loudspeaker down to the hamlets, through articles, real stories about the consequences of uneconomical weddings... Directing the Youth Union to build a model wedding, from there to replicate and spread.

Dancing at a "reformed" wedding in the village.

Mr. Tran Van Tuan (village 3) who just organized a wedding for his son at the cultural house said: Nowadays, the need for food and drink is no longer a problem, even going to many parties becomes tiring. To save money and carry out weddings according to the new cultural lifestyle, all weddings in the village still hold a salty party on the main holiday, but the attendees are only relatives, close friends of the host, and the villagers only come to chew betel, drink water and congratulate the host on the evening of the tent. Thanks to that, in the past, each wedding in the village had on average hundreds of tables of food, but now, each wedding has only a few dozen tables, and the weddings still receive full congratulations and joy from the villagers. It is really much more economical. The location, tables and chairs, speakers, and backdrops are lent by the commune. Actually, the most important thing is that the husband and wife live happily together.

Currently, the system of cultural houses in Nghi Hop has been invested in spacious, clean, fully equipped with speakers, spacious and airy campus, so the wedding held at the cultural house is no longer a rare thing, but almost all families choose the cultural house as the venue for the important day of their children. In 2016, Nghi Hop commune is planning to hold a ceremony to award collective marriage certificates at the commune cultural house.

To spread wedding according to new cultural lifestyle

Mr. Phan Huu Loc - Head of Cultural Lifestyle Department - Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said: After 15 years of implementation, thanks to promoting propaganda work to implement regulations on civilized lifestyle in weddings, districts, cities and towns have paid attention to and directed with forms such as: Organizing training conferences, information and art performances, television reports, club activities, organizing commitment signing, building wedding models suitable to the customs and practices of each ethnic group and each region.

The most important thing is that people's awareness and views have changed a lot. 90% of youth weddings do not use tobacco, do not organize the bride-picking ceremony in a ostentatious and formal manner, and do not use loudspeakers that make noise past the prescribed time. Mobilize and encourage union members and youth to organize weddings with a sweet party and entertainment at the cultural house, bring and pick up the bride in a concise manner, abandon backward customs, and use the form of announcing the good news after the wedding day. Some localities have organized collective weddings, enjoyed entertainment at the hall, offered flowers at memorial works, temples, and pagodas, and performed weddings well in a civilized lifestyle, typically: Dien Chau, Quynh Luu, Yen Thanh, Quy Hop, Hung Nguyen... In general, weddings in the province in the past 15 years have been carried out relatively well in a civilized lifestyle.

Young matchmaker offers betel at Thai wedding in Chi Khe - Con Cuong.

However, the implementation of weddings according to the new cultural lifestyle in our province, especially in mountainous districts, is still more or less affected by the backward customs of the people. Some weddings are organized lavishly, inviting many guests, in some urban areas there is still the phenomenon of commercialization in weddings...

To overcome the above shortcomings, in the coming time, the Culture sector will continue to promote the movement "All people unite to build a cultural life"; Party committees and authorities at all levels will strengthen leadership, direction and propaganda on building a grassroots cultural life, implementing a cultural and civilized lifestyle in weddings. All levels and sectors will widely propagate and disseminate to cadres, workers and civil servants the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's laws on religion, beliefs and implementing a civilized lifestyle in weddings. In particular, the Culture sector will study and supplement regulations on implementing a civilized lifestyle in weddings in accordance with the national cultural identity of each locality; organize preliminary and final summaries to draw experience in the implementation process and have forms of encouragement and reward for collectives and individuals with many achievements in implementing a civilized lifestyle in weddings.

Thanh Thuy - Mai Giang