Simplicity does not reduce love for happy events. What has been changed in the reform of creative wedding customs？

CCTV News:Wedding is a beautiful and happy moment in life, but in some places, such customs as extravagant wedding banquets, vulgar weddings, and comparison with gifts often make happy events taste and go out of tune. With the advocacy of new marriage and childbearing culture, the group wedding to reduce the burden of love has become the choice of more and more young people. May is the peak of marriage, and many fancy collective weddings have been held. Let’s take a look.

On Zhu Xi Island in Deqing, Zhejiang Province, a collective wedding is being held. The couple made a marriage vow under the sculpture of crested ibis, which symbolizes love. The people who took the oath were a couple who had been married for more than 30 years. They handed flowers to the couple one by one and gave them their long-lasting good wishes for their marriage.

Qian Yueying, a citizen of Deqing, Zhejiang:In the past, when we got married, we had to hold a wedding banquet, which was extravagant and wasteful. At that time, there was no money, but we still had to hold a wedding banquet to save face. Now, it’s okay to be simple, not extravagant.

Yu Yao, a citizen of Deqing, Zhejiang:Less complicated procedures, love and marriage seem to have become more pure.

In Guixi, Jiangxi, Juye, Shandong and other places, a number of collective weddings with the theme of "Don’t pay the bride price to be happy" were organized in May, and new people were encouraged to choose simple wedding ceremonies. At the collective wedding scene in hejian city, Hebei Province, the red carpet was gorgeous and the silk and bamboo curled up. The new people wore traditional dresses and started their love journey in accordance with the traditional ceremony of Zhou Dynasty Chinese wedding under the witness of the witness and the officiant.

Yan Jianan, a citizen of Cangzhou, Hebei Province:This is a very civilized way, and I feel very honored.

Jishan Mountain in Shanxi is rich in jujube. In the season when jujube flowers are in full bloom, new people choose to hold a collective wedding in jujube forest.

In Baotou City, Inner Mongolia, a group wedding with grassland characteristics has become the choice of many newcomers. Under the blue sky and white clouds, the couple made their wedding vows on the lawn, and the marriage registration office made a special marriage certificate and gave it to the couple on the spot.

Yang Yuwei, a citizen of Baotou City, Inner Mongolia:It’s great and romantic, and I think this ceremony is also very good.

Bad habits such as "high price bride price" have been effectively curbed.

Such a group wedding is really simple and beautiful. Since 2021, the Ministry of Civil Affairs has identified 32 experimental areas for the reform of marriage customs throughout the country. Advocate such a simple and moderate wedding form, and at the same time, through measures such as increasing publicity, effectively curb the bad atmosphere of high-priced bride price and extravagance and waste.

The phenomenon of high-priced bride price in Guixi, Jiangxi Province was common in the past, which increased the burden on the masses. After it was designated as an experimental area for the reform of marriage customs in 2021, the government focused the reform on outstanding issues such as high-priced bride price and big-scale operation.

Xiao Yao, Director of Civilization Office of guixi city, Jiangxi Province:Originally, we advocated zero bride price at first, but it was not suitable for our local folk customs, because there was still a bride price in the wedding, and later we proposed a price-limited bride price.

In order to publicize the new marriage customs, the local villagers’ councils and other grass-roots organizations were mobilized to publicize the new marriage customs. Starting with the cadres and the staff of the matchmaking agency in party member, the professional "matchmaker" convention was issued and the "matchmaker" training was carried out, and the "matchmaker" guided the newcomers to resist the high-priced bride price.

Professional Matchmaker in guixi city, Jiangxi Province:We have received the training organized by the government, not only for matchmaking, but also for publicity, advocating low bride price and zero bride price.

According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, since the launch of the experimental area of marriage custom reform, various localities have publicized the traditional excellent marriage culture through innovative certification ceremony and the establishment of marriage cultural centers. Qingshan District of Baotou City has set up a marriage and family counseling station in the community, organized volunteers to go deep into communities and villages to carry out the publicity of marriage custom reform, and guided the masses to establish a correct view of marriage, values and family.

Li Jinyan, Director of Civil Affairs Bureau of Qingshan District, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia:The focus of the reform of marriage customs is to focus on three key points: new wedding events, simple wedding banquets, and propriety. Every year, various activities will be carried out according to different festivals and different climates, so that young people can change their ideas about marriage customs from the bottom of their hearts.

Since the experimental area of marriage custom reform was launched, some places have also created literary works with the theme of marriage custom reform to publicize the new marriage custom. In Yanhu District, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province, the modern Pu Opera "Red and White Wedding Events" is popular with the masses to promote the change of customs and establish a new civilized atmosphere. In Dongdagou Village, Qingshan District, Baotou City, a cultural performance with the theme of singing the reform of marriage customs is being held. The wonderful program tells the harm of bad marriage customs, and guides the masses to consciously resist the phenomena of high-priced bride price, comparison with ceremony, extravagance and waste in marriage.

Up to now, most of the experimental areas for the reform of marriage customs have incorporated marriage customs such as restricting high-priced bride price, lavishing lavish activities, etc. into villagers’ conventions and residents’ conventions, so as to guide new couples to respond to the new wedding fashion.

Chen Yun, Director of Baotashan Village Committee, Xiazhuhu Street, Deqing County, Zhejiang Province:The two committees in our village took the lead, and party member and volunteers went to the door to distribute leaflets on changing customs to establish the villagers’ ideas of saving.

According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, in the past two years, the high-priced bride price and large-scale activities have been effectively curbed in the experimental area of marriage custom reform. Hejian city, Hebei Province is the first batch of experimental areas for the reform of marriage customs in China. In the past, there were nearly 200,000 bride price in rural areas. Since the pilot reform of marriage customs was launched in 2021, among more than 7,000 couples who registered for marriage, "zero bride price" and "low bride price" accounted for nearly 90%.

Ma Zhongwen, Director of hejian city Civil Affairs Bureau:Through the development of marriage and family counseling services, we advocate simple and moderate marriage customs and etiquette, and cultivate a civilized and upward marriage customs culture.

Strengthening marriage counseling and maintaining family harmony

After holding a wedding and forming a family, how to maintain family harmony and make the marriage happy for a long time? Since the work of the experimental area of marriage custom reform was carried out, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, together with the All-China Women’s Federation, has guided all localities to establish and improve the marriage and family service mechanism, provide emotional counseling, marriage crisis handling methods and other services for the parties, and improve their comprehensive ability and quality in maintaining marriage and family.

In Yanhu District, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province, the marriage registration authority invited couples who won the honorary titles of "Five Good Families in China" as invited certifiers to explain the family responsibilities on the spot for the newly certified couples, and guide them to establish the concept of harmonious coexistence, mutual respect and love for marriage and family.

Zhang Changqin, representative of the five best families in China:I hope that in the future, they will respect each other, tolerate each other, honor their parents, build a small family and make more contributions to the big family of the country.

At present, more than 84% of the county-level marriage registration offices in China have set up marriage and family counseling rooms to provide counseling services based on the principle of "legality, voluntariness and confidentiality". In Dezhou, Shandong Province, volunteers from the Marriage and Family Counseling Center give on-site lectures to newcomers at the registration site to help them establish a healthy and scientific family concept.

Feng Zikai, a citizen of Dezhou, Shandong Province, Jiang Lele:This activity made us realize the responsibility and significance of establishing a new family, and at the same time, my husband and wife will be tolerant and understand each other in the future.

According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, all experimental areas actively explore the service mode of marriage and family. In some places, through the evaluation of "good family", "good mother-in-law" and "good daughter-in-law", people around them, things around them and role models around them can influence their neighbors and harmonious families. Baotou, Inner Mongolia, Deqing, Zhejiang and other places also extend marriage and family counseling, family conflict resolution and other services to villages and communities, and mediators mediate between husband and wife who have conflicts in marriage to help marriage and family harmony.

Dennies Hu, Marriage Counselor in Qingshan District, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia:The biggest advantage of the marriage and family counseling station in the community is that it meets the needs of residents, can listen to the voices of the people at close range, and help families sort out the problems they encounter in their relationship.

Shen Yunyue, Marriage and Family Mediator in Baotashan Village, Xiazhuhu Street, Deqing County, Zhejiang Province:The purpose of premarital counseling and divorce coordination is to hope that the villagers in our village will be happy.