WEDDING CUSTOMS OF RACES IN MALAYSIA As all of us know, Malaysia is a multiracial country. Malaysia's population comprises many ethnic groups.

All wedding are different of course, but nevertheless they also have many things in common. Besides studying on the wedding ceremony and customs, we should also note down some of the important wedding taboos on all ethnic wedding ceremonies.

INTRODUCTION There are many different definitions for a wedding, but generally a wedding can be defined as the ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of wedding vows by the couple, presentation of a gift (offering, ring(s), symbolic item, flowers, money), and a public proclamation of marriage by an authority figure or leader. Special wedding garments are often worn, and the ceremony is sometimes followed by a wedding reception. Music, poetry, prayers or readings from religious texts or literature are also commonly incorporated into the ceremony. A number of cultures have adopted the traditional Western custom of the white wedding, in which a bride wears a white wedding dress and veil. This tradition was popularized through the wedding of Queen Victoria. Some say Victoria's choice of a white gown may have simply been a sign of extravagance, but may have also been influenced by the values she held which emphasized sexual purity. Within the modern 'white wedding' tradition, a white dress and veil are unusual choices for a woman's second or subsequent wedding.

The use of a wedding ring has long been part of religious weddings in Europe and America, but the origin of the tradition is unclear. One possibility is the Roman belief in the Vena Amoris, which was believed to be a blood vessel that ran from the fourth finger (ring finger) directly to the heart, thus when a couple wore rings on this finger their hearts were connected. Historian Vicki Howard points out that the belief in the "ancient" quality of the practice is most likely a modern invention. "Double ring" ceremonies are also a modern practice, a groom's wedding band not appearing in the United States until the early 20th century. The wedding ceremony is often followed by a drinks reception then a wedding breakfast, in which the rituals may include speeches from the groom, best man, father of the bride and possibly the bride, the newlyweds first dance as a couple, and the cutting of an elegant wedding cake. Traditional wedding clothing attire also vary among ethnic groups. Wedding ceremony participants, also referred to as the wedding party, are the people that participate directly in the wedding ceremony itself. Depending on the location, religion, and style of the wedding, this group may include only the individual people that are marrying, or it may include one or more brides, grooms (or bridegrooms), persons of honor, bridespersons, best persons, groomsmen, flower girls, pages and ringbearers. A womans wedding party consists of only those on her side of the wedding party. Those on a grooms side are called his grooms party.

Customs are the practices followed by people of a particular group or region. It is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom. Hence, Wedding customs refer to the practices that people follow during weddings. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes.

CHINESE WEDDING CUSTOMS Traditional Chinese marriage is a ceremonial ritual within Chinese societies that involve a marriage established by pre-arrangement between families. Within Chinese culture, romantic love was allowed, and monogamy was the norm for most ordinary citizens. There are essentially six rituals, generally known as the three letters and six etiquettes. The six traditional rites involved in a Chinese wedding are as follows, nacai - formal proposal, wenming - giving of the eight characters of prospective bride to the grooms side, naji placement of the eight characters at the ancestral altar to confirm compatibility. nazheng sending of betrothal gifts to the bride and return gifts to the prospective groom, qingqi - selection of an auspicious wedding date and qinying which is the wedding ceremony. The proposal is when an unmarried boy's parents found a potential daughter-in-law, they then located a matchmaker whose job was to assuage the conflict of interests and general embarrassments when discussing the possibility of marriage on the part of two families largely unknown to each other Birthdates are when if the selected girl and her parents did not object to the proposal, the matchmaker would match the birthdates literally "the 8 cyclic characters for year, month, day and hour of birth of a man, which determine his fate") in which suanming (Chinese fortune telling) is used to predict the future of that couple-to-be. In the olden days, a matchmaker was involved in ensuring both the boy and girl are compatible through assessing their Four Pillars of Destiny. If the result of Suan Ming was good, they then would go to the next step. Bride price ( also known as Betrothal gifts) which mean at this point the bridegroom's family arranged for the matchmaker to present bride price (betrothal gifts), including the betrothal letter,

to the bride's family. Wedding gifts are when the groom's family would then send an elaborate array of food, cakes, and religious items to the bride's family. Arranging the wedding requires a few stages which is pre wedding, during and after. Before wedding ceremony, two families would arrange a wedding day according to Chinese tung shing. Selecting an auspicious day to assure a good future for the couple is as important as avoiding what is believed to be an unlucky day. In some cases there may be no auspicious dates and the couple will have to review their potential date range. The goal is usually to pick a good day to officiate the wedding ceremony and reception; a day and time which will not clash with the Four Pillars of the bride and grooms birth time. Wedding Ceremony is the final ritual would be the actual wedding ceremony where bride and groom become a married couple, which consists of many elaborate parts:

Wedding Procession is the wedding procession from the bride's home to the groom's home consists of a traditional band, the bride's sedan, the maids of honor's sedans, and bride's dowry in the forms other than money. i.e a whole roast pig, followed by a few lavishly decorated gift baskets

Welcoming the Bride is when the wedding procession of the bride's family stops at the door of the groom's home.

Actual Wedding Ceremonies equivalent to exchanging vows in the west, the couple would pay respect to the Jade Emperor, the family deities (or buddhas and bodhisattvas), paying respect to deceased ancestors, the bride and groom's parents and other elders, and paying respect to each other.

Before the bride and groom enter the wedding chambers, they exchange nuptial cups and perform ceremonial bows as follows, first bow - Heaven and Earth, second bow ancestors, third bow parents and finally the fourth bow to their spouse.

The Wedding Banquets is sometimes far more important than the actual wedding itself. There are ceremonies such as bride presenting wines or tea to parents, spouse, and guests. Wedding banquets are elaborate and consist usually of 5-10 courses, with ingredients such as shark's fin, abalone, lobster, sea cucumber, swiftlets nests and local delicacies. The wedding banquets are two separate banquets: the primary banquet is hosted once at the bride's side, the second banquet (smaller banquet) at the groom's side. The wedding banquets are actually a gesture of "thanks" and appreciation, to those that have raised the bride and groom (such as grandparents). Thus out of respect for the elders, wedding banquets are usually done formally and traditionally. The tea ceremony usually comes right after the end of the marriage ceremony, but some couples will wait until later in the day or even the following morning. An altar would be created to feature photos of the newlyweds' ancestors, and will be adorned with white flowers, incense, and fruit. Candles are also a part of the tea ceremony; one will be painted with the image of the dragon, and the other with the phoenix to represent the groom and bride's families. The tea is served by the bride and groom from a beautiful tea set on a tray. This ceremony is basically to honor family and respect elders

CONCLUSION

A wedding is a beautiful event, attended by many guests, family members and friends. It is also an event that can strengthen up the relationship between family members.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding http://jjme.wordpress.com/traditions/a-chinese-wedding/ http://www.scribd.com/doc/8801494/Wedding-Ceremony-in-Multicultural-Malaysia http://www.malaysiaweddinghub.com/inspirations-ideas/guo-da-li%E8%BF%87%E5%A4%A7%E7%A4%BC/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_pre-wedding_customs