Yingshan, Sichuan: Qixi Festival collective certification activities lead to new marriage customs

On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the Milky Way shines brightly and the magpie bridge meets. On this day of faithful love and beautiful expectations, many couples choose marriage as their alliance and join hands to embark on a new journey in life.

On August 29th, at the Marriage Registration Office of Yingshan County Civil Affairs Bureau in Nanchong City, Sichuan Province, young men and women had already queued up in advance to apply for marriage registration, with happy smiles on their faces. Some of them hold flowers in their hands, while others wear white dresses with veils, exuding a sense of ceremony and happiness that cannot be concealed in their eyes. Many newcomers are dressed in couple outfits, waiting hand in hand for the arrival of an important lesson in life. The men at the scene held a bouquet of flowers decorated with roses and lilies to give each other a gift for Qixi Valentine's Day, which also added sweet atmosphere to the scene. After completing their marriage registration, the newlyweds chose to take photos in the Chinese style certificate hall as a memento.

"We set the date of getting the certificate for a long time today, because today is the traditional festival of Qixi. The county civil affairs bureau prepared flowers, sugar, etc. for us, and gave us the certificate on the spot. We felt very happy with the full sense of ceremony." Ms. Zhang, a citizen, said happily.

On that day, the County Civil Affairs Bureau specially planned and held a collective certification ceremony with the theme of "In the Name of Love, Prove Good Fate Together". At the ceremony, the newlyweds solemnly read out the "Wedding Oath" and made a firm commitment to love, respect, understand, support each other, and share the wind and rain together. The relevant leaders of the County Civil Affairs Bureau, as the specially invited certifier, issued the marriage certificate to the couple and sent sincere Qixi wishes to them that they will stay together forever and grow old together. The newlyweds also listened to the small lecture "Qixi Festival Sails for Love - the First Lesson of Happy Marriage". Newcomers who participated in the event expressed that this certification ceremony was both special and meaningful, making them feel the sanctity and responsibility of marriage, and writing an unforgettable romantic opening for their love story.

The collective certification ceremony this time combines the cultural connotations of traditional festivals with modern marriage registration services, aiming to promote excellent traditional Chinese culture, advocate civilized marriage customs, and guide newlyweds to establish correct views on marriage and family, "said Chen Xiaobo, director of the Civil Affairs Bureau of Yingshan County. Next, Yingshan will build an open collective wedding certification point in Yudi Village, Dongsheng Town, and set up cultural landscapes such as wedding check-in display racks and wedding customs cultural corridors, which will be built into a check-in place for young people's marriage and dating. (Zou Gang)