美国文化loveandmarriage.ppt

                                     Love and Weddings       “Men always want to be a woman’s first love --- women like to be a man’s last romance.” --- Oscar Wilde     Proverbs and sayingsnMarriage halves our grieves, double our joys, and quadruples our expenses.nMarry in haste, repent at leisure.nLove is blind.nBeauty is in the eye of the beholder.nLet your heart rule your head.nWear your heart on your sleeve.Marriage and Weddings nFamily TraditionnThe United States is "a melting pot" of cultures each with their own unique Marriage Customs and Traditions. There has been a set of Customs and Traditions generally accepted as common to Marriage in The United States unless the marriage is a Common Law Marriage.A General ProcedurenDating is the accepted pre-engagement practice between couples. Families generally establish requirements for the details of acceptable activities, time of day, single or group dating etc. The age, personality and maturity of dating children generally drive the conditions set by parents if the children are still at home.nLove between the couples is believed to be a prerequisite to marriage.A General ProcedurenProposal of marriage by the man and acceptance by the woman results in an Engagement. Couples enter into marriage with the belief that the relationship is permanent. The engagement is marked by the gift of a diamond Engagement Ring from the man(fiancé) proposing to the woman(fiancée) accepting.nA Marriage License is required by all States including a Blood Test and a prescribed waiting period.A General ProcedurenA Wedding Rehearsal Dinner is usually celebrated between the immediate families of spouses in the late afternoon the day before the wedding. The groom's Family traditionally provides for this celebration.nA Bachelor/stag  Party is held for the groom and usually sponsored by the best man shortly before the Wedding. A General ProcedurenA Bridal Shower is usually sponsored by the bridesmaid. It has become very popular now for The bridesmaid to also sponsor a Bachelorette Party for the bride. nThe Wedding Ceremony is most often performed as part of a religious ceremony each with its own specific customs and traditions. On the day of the wedding the groom does not see the Bride until the actual ceremony. A General ProcedurenA Wedding Reception is usually held after the ceremony for all family and friends to celebrate. The Bride's Family usually provides for this celebration.nA Honeymoon is taken by the Bride and Groom to a secret place where they go off for their first night together in Marriage. It is thought that the Honeymoon Custom was established to avoid the European Custom Charivari where family and friends banged on pots and pans outside the couple's bedroom their first night of marriage.nMarriage is a social institution that defines the relationship between a man and a woman. It defines in legal terms the obligations of spouses to each other and to their children. This forms the basis for also defining the rights of the children born into the family created by the marriage relationship. nIt takes 18-21 years to raise a child to adulthood. "Until Death Do Us Part" nThe level of commitment required between a man and a woman to sustain a relationship and a home for child rearing is significant. A permanent loving relationship between spouses, and between spouses and children, provides the best nurturing environment for continuation of society. Society's Principles and Values are passed to children within the Family environment. "Until Death Do Us Part"  Wedding Ceremony in America The Bride’s DressnThe traditional American bride wears a long white gown and a veil. In earlier times, people thought the veil would protect the bride from evil spirits. The white gown and veil also symbolize innocence and puritynThe full wording of this popular bridal attire rhyme, which dates  back  to  the  Victorian  times  is  ‘something  old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a silver sixpence in your shoe.’nWearing  something old refers to wearing something that represents a link with the bride's family and her old life. Usually,  the  bride  wears  a  piece  of  family  jewellery  or maybe her mother's or grandmother's wedding dress.The Bride’s Dress.nWearing  something  new  represents  good  fortune  and success in the bride's new life. The bride's wedding dress is usually chosen, if purchased new, but it can be any other new item of the bride's wedding attire.nWearing  something  borrowed,  which  has  already  been worn by another happy bride at her wedding, is meant to bring  good  luck  to  the  marriage.  Something  borrowed could be an item of bridal clothing, a handkerchief or an item of jewellery.The Bride’s DressnWearing something blue dates back to biblical times when the  colour  blue  was  considered  to  represent  purity  and fidelity.  Over time this has evolved from wearing a blue clothing to wearing a blue band around the bottom of the bride's  dress  and  to  today‘s    wearing  a  blue  or  blue-trimmed garter.nPlacing a silver sixpence in the bride's left shoe is a symbol of  wealth.  This  is  not  just  to  bring  the  bride  financial wealth but also a wealth of happiness and joy throughout her married life.The Bride’s DressThe Wedding CarnSometimes, the couple’s car is decorated with tin cans, paper steamers, or old shoes, along with a “Just Married” sign. The tin can and the old shoes reflect an old idea that noisemakers scare away evil spirits and bring good luck.The CeremonynThe wedding ceremony may be held in a church, home, hotel, or nice outdoor area. The wedding itself usually lasts between 20 and 40 minutes. nAn hour before starting, the wedding party enters the church and led to seats by the ushers. Traditionally, guests of the groom on the right side, while these of the bride on the left side.nThe groom stands with the minister, facing the audience. nThe wedding march starts, the minister invites guests to stand and welcome the bride out with a procession:n1. the best men and bridesmaids arrive in pairsn2. the flower girl throws flower petals from a straw basket.n3. the bride walks down the aisle with her father, who “gives her away” to the groom. nThe minister conducts the ceremony.nThe bride and groom read their wedding vows to each other and exchange identical wedding rings. The ring, a circle with no beginning and no end, symbolizes unending love and loyalty.nThe minister announces them husband and wife and invite them to kiss each other. nAfter a church wedding, guests may throw rose petals, confetti, or rice at the newlywed as they leave the church. Rice, a common fertility symbol, is supposed to help the couple have children.nThe newlywed get out of the hall and get pictures with friends and relatives.Marriage StatementnDo you take this woman （（man））to be your lawful wedded wife（（husband））to live together in the holy estate matrimony?n你愿否以此女人（男人）为你合法之妻子（丈夫），与你共你愿否以此女人（男人）为你合法之妻子（丈夫），与你共同生活在圣洁之婚姻中？同生活在圣洁之婚姻中？nWill you love her(him), cherish her(him), keep her(him), honor her(him), in sickness, in health and forsaking all other cleave, you only under her（（him）） so long as both shall live?n你你愿愿否否在在病病中中、、在在平平时时心心爱爱她她（（他他））、、护护佑佑她她（（他他））、、照照料料她她（（他他））、、尊尊敬敬她她（（他他）），，并并摒摒弃弃一一切切，，唯唯她她（（他他））是是赖赖，，共度生活？共度生活？Marriage Statementn I now pronounce you husband and wife, and hope you'll be both very happy.n我现在宣布你们两人为夫妇并希望你们两人幸福。

我现在宣布你们两人为夫妇并希望你们两人幸福western cultureThe Wedding ReceptionnAfter the ceremony, there is a reception—a party with food, drinks and dancing.nAs the reception begins, the guests cannot eat anything until the newlywed and their family do first. The best man is the first to toast to the groom. nA moment later, the newlywed will do the first dance. And the second dance is by the groom with the bride’s mother and the bride with the groom’s father. After these, guests can dance.The Wedding CakenAfter the meal, the newlywed cooperate to cut a cake and it is served to the guests. Most wedding cakes have a miniature bride and groom or miniature wedding bells on top.nSome guests take home a slice of cake. They believe that if a single woman sleeps with this piece of cake under her pillow, she will dream of the man she is going to marry.The Bouquet TossnJust before the bride leaves the reception, she throws a bouquet of flowers backwards over her head to a group of single women standing behind her. Supposedly, the one who catches the bouquet will be the next to marry.HoneymoonnThe word honeymoon comes from the custom that newlyweds were to drink mead and honey for the first thirty days after their marriage as the moon went through all of its phases. After those thirty days the couple’s love was believed to wane, like the moon. Wedding Customs and SuperstitionsnWhen the bride is ready to leave the house for the wedding ceremony, a last look in the mirror will bring her good luck. However, returning to the mirror once she has begun her journey will result in bad luck.nSeeing a chimney sweep on the way to a wedding is thought to bring good luck and it is still possible to hire one to attend wedding ceremonies.nOther good luck omens seen on the way to the ceremony include lambs, toads, spiders, black cats and rainbows.nSeeing an open grave, a pig, a lizard, or hearing a cockerel crow after dawn are all omens of bad luck.nBad weather on the way to the wedding is thought to be an omen of an unhappy marriage, although rain is considered a good omen in some cultures. Cloudy skies and wind are believed to cause stormy marriage. Snow, on the other hand, is associated with fertility and wealth.n after the wedding, the bride must enter the new marital home through the main entrance. It is traditional for the groom to carry the bride over the threshold when they enter for the first time.Wedding Customs and SuperstitionsWedding AnniversarynAmericans attach great  importance to anniversaries.  Family and  friends  always    get  together  for  a  grand  celebration.   Husband and wife exchang gifts according to the meaning of the  anniversary.  Guests  also  bring  symbolic  gifts.  Each anniversary has a different name, portrays  different meaning.western cultureWedding Anniversary1纸婚Paper wedding2棉婚 Cotton wedding3皮革婚Leather wedding4丝婚Silk wedding5木婚Wood wedding6铁婚或糖婚Iron or Sugar candy wedding7铜婚 Copper wedding8陶器婚 Pottery wedding9柳婚 Willow wedding10锡婚 Tin wedding11钢婚 Steel wedding12亚麻婚Linen wedding13花边婚Lace wedding14象牙婚 Ivory wedding15水晶婚 Crystal weddingAfter this, five years a name western cultureWedding Anniversary20瓷婚 China wedding25银婚（银婚大典）Silver edding（Silver Jubilee）30珍珠婚（珍珠般可贵）Pearls wedding35珊瑚婚 Coral wedding40红宝石婚 Ruby wedding45蓝宝石婚 Sapphire wedding50金婚Golden wedding55翡翠婚 Emerald wedding60钻石婚Diamond wedding（Diamond Jubilee））western cultureTrue or False n1. When a man is proposing to a woman, kneeling is a common position in modern America.n2. May is traditionally a preferable month for weddings.n3. That the groom meets his bride before wedding is traditionally encouraged.n4.The wedding attendants serve as witnesses at the ceremony.n5. Most American brides are dressed in white in the wedding ceremony because people believe that white symbolizes joy. n6. It is custom that the bride throws her bouquet to the assembled single women.n7. It is traditionally the bride’s family that pays for the wedding.n8. The customs of throwing something at a wedding reflects people’s original wish for fertility to the new couple.。