celebrations of May

The weeks have been full of interesting activities, as May has again allowed us to visit friends and participate in their weddings.

May is a popular month for weddings, even though most people don’t have time off. Our friend Sarah, who was an AA at TIP for several years and studied with us, invited us to her wedding in a nearby city. Harbin is a 5-hour train ride, and we needed to take a day off from classes in order to join her Thursday wedding. We were thankful that our director gave us the OK!

the groom tries to break in

eating from the fruit blessing table before meeting his bride

We were blessed to meet Sarah's family and participate in the traditional activities reserved for the relatives, which includes the groom pushing his way into the bride’s family home (forcing the front door open) and paying “hong bao” – red envelopes full of money to her relatives. Then the groom and family in attendance are supposed to eat from the table full of plentiful fruits and nuts – presumably to invoke blessings, fertility and fortune.

For the city wedding, the bride hired a wedding service which secured the necessary hotel rooms, one of which served as her family home, as well as the announcer who narrated all of the activities. After “breaking” into the room, the groom hunts for his bride’s shoes, which have been carefully hidden. Until he can find the shoes, he can’t take the bride away. This groom had to take several breaks around the food table while he searched the room for the shoe, which one of the aunts had hidden behind the TV. The groom was happy that it didn’t take longer than 15 minutes, and we were happy that we didn’t get run over in the process.

he found the shoes :)

Other activities include exchanges between the two sets of parents – which if full bowing and lots of thankfulness. Then all of the guests are encouraged to go to the hall for the ceremony and banquet. There are a lot of lights, and pictures are displayed on a huge screen. This wedding included a quartet that was very skilled, and we were treated to an authentic concert. Yay!

We almost made it out of the wedding without having been asked to drink any “bai jiu” (alcohol). But alas, we were cornered on the way out by the father-in-law, who wanted to express his thanks with the traditional toast. Fortunately, he was drinking beer by then. :)

bride and groom toast each table, one by one

The day after the wedding, Sarah’s in-laws hosted us on an outing that included a trip to a museum and the childhood home of a famous woman author. The grounds were beautiful that spring day and the home was typical of the wealthy class of the early 19^th century. We appreciated that we were able to go with Sarah to several new places she had never been. We also went to a park where they had a 100-year-old cactus. A little strange looking, but interesting none-the-less.

Some meaningful things that we learned and experienced along the way included staying at a hotel that was owned by like-minded individuals, who placed God’s Word in each of the guest rooms. They also displayed verses in the lobby. We also found out that Sarah’s in-laws have several members of their families who believe. Our Father encourages us everywhere we go!

with Linda and her husband

On Sunday, we attended another city wedding with our colleague, Linda. She was most excited about getting 25 days of vacation – the standard work leave allowed when a one gets married. She promises to bring us back a gift. Oh no!

more of Sarah's wedding...

too much good food!

the red dress... is the second one of the day

pouring the fountain of glasses to overflowing

100-year-old cactus