How to solve the sky-high bride price in rural areas?

In spring, everything germinates. Many newcomers will list their top priorities at this time. However, marriage is not only a matter of two couples and two families, but also involves personal communication and the relationship between relatives and friends, so this scene is often getting bigger and bigger. Rich people spend a lot of money to do it, and those who have no money to borrow money should do it. Many newcomers have a heavy financial burden and have hardships. This year, the Ministry of Civil Affairs will comprehensively promote the reform of marriage customs and advocate simple and moderate wedding etiquette. But this marriage is a domestic affair after all. What should we do?

Yuan Zheng of Konglou Village, Huangji Township, Zhecheng County, Henan Province is busy preparing for a wedding. According to the custom in the village, no matter which couple get married, they will invite such a respected old man to preside over the wedding, which is called "Xi Zong" for short.

However, Yuan still has an identity today, that is, the vice president of the Red and White Council appointed by the village committee. The establishment of this association, the most important thing is to help local people change their ideas and change the rules of the wedding. As far as the wedding is concerned, he has settled the accounts for the father of the couple.

Yuan, the father of the newcomer, said: "Now we have invited 10 table, with more than 70 people, less than 80 people. In the past, I had to get more than 10 tables, more than 5,000 yuan. "

Yuan said: "Now it is halved to more than 2,000 yuan. How much money have you saved? It's 260 now, and it used to be 450. Including how much alcohol and tobacco have been saved. Cigarettes used to cost ten dollars for such a happy event, but now there are five, eight and seven. Originally a bottle of wine 20 yuan, now 10 yuan. "

Zhecheng County belongs to Shangqiu, Henan Province, with a long history and many traditions, especially in weddings. Just talking about the wedding banquet, there is a flowing banquet. The whole village takes turns to go into battle, and everyone should eat some wax from noon. Everyone wants to talk about ostentation and extravagance, so the price of the wedding banquet is also rising, not counting the cost of cigarettes and wine. A table of banquets can't be stopped by four or five hundred. Dozens of tables will cost tens of thousands.

Yang Fangzhen, the chef of the wedding banquet, said: "In the past, we all talked about ostentation and extravagance, with many plates, fifteen or six at the bottom, and a lot of chicken and fish. I definitely can't eat. 16 pressure plate is different from the existing 8-plate and 6-plate. "

Besides the wedding reception, the bride price is also a big deal. In Henan, it ranges from 66,000 to 88,000, many of which are colorful. Some places even need to prepare hundreds of thousands of bride price money to do this marriage.

The matchmaker Jing Suxia said, "Compare with each other, if all your children are married to1.20,000, my children will definitely marry1.20,000, my daughter is not ugly, and everyone else is married to1.20,000. Why can my daughter be less than 1.2 million? "

From 2065438 to 2008, the per capita income of farmers in Zhecheng County was only over 10,000 yuan. Compared with rural villagers who are all farmers, Mr. and Mrs. Yuan have been working outside the home in recent years, and they still have an income of 20,000 to 30,000 yuan a year, but it is still a bit difficult for their sons to get married.

Before preparing for his son's wedding, Lao Yuan was really a little angry. If the wedding is small, he is afraid of embarrassment for relatives and friends. If he grows up, the family's financial resources really can't hold up. As a result, Lao Yuan hasn't figured out a way yet, and the village has figured out a way first. For the bride's bride price, it is necessary to organize forces led by matchmakers to persuade families to want less. Once the bride is educated, the county party committee and county government will relay on the stage and name it "Honorable Household for Changing Customs".

Lao Yuan's wife is sensible and hardly asks the man for a bride price. The standard of the wedding banquet that worried him was written into the village rules and regulations: the scope of the wedding banquet can only be immediate family members, collateral blood relatives within three generations and close in-laws, each table 10 people. The standard is controlled within 330 yuan, and it is best not to exceed two bottles of wine. As soon as the village heard which village was going to hold a happy event, it immediately called the two committees of the village, members of the Red and White Council and five old villagers to do the ideological work of simplifying the new office. Later, in order to prevent the rebound of the day, it is necessary to arrange on-site supervision of Baocun cadres.

Township cadres play the bad COP, and the villagers who hold the wedding get tangible benefits. A month later, they don't need township cadres to be present. As long as they entrust General Xi to be on the scene, they not only supervise everyone to hold the wedding frugally, but also set off the excitement at the scene.

Along with the standard of the wedding banquet, there is also the guest's money. Before that, at the wedding banquet, there were big fish and meat, good wine and good dishes. Of course, no one is embarrassed by losing money. In this way, the money in the village once rose to several thousand yuan.

In the activity of creating civilized rural customs, the gift money should not exceed that of 200 yuan, which is clearly written into the village rules and regulations. When collecting money at the wedding, Mr. Xi will also stare at whether the money exceeds the standard. Although some villagers whispered, everyone was relieved.

According to General Yuan, in the past, many people spent a lot of money on weddings and attending weddings, but they didn't really want to spend money. Now, the village reminds itself that while marriage is simple, it is also the family who finds a step for his family.

It is a practice summarized in many places that the prestigious old people in the village advocate frugal weddings and fix the wedding process and the amount of bride price through villagers' conventions. In Zhejiang, when communicating with some newcomers, the Red and White Council found that many young people are really tired of the idea of holding large-scale events in hotels and are willing to do something novel and simple.

But the parents of the new couple always think that it is a bit unreasonable for their children to get married. So the village staff helped the children do the work of parents.

After the old man's work is finished, the wedding banquet is placed at the groom's house, and braised duck is the biggest dish. Relatives and friends ate happily and gave a thumbs-up to this change.

Newcomers save money by dealing in wine. He not only lightened the burden, but also donated 6,000 yuan to the love and mutual aid foundation in the village.

Nowadays, many young people have mature ideas about their weddings and marriages. The wedding is for yourself, not for others. Civil affairs departments in some places have also seen these ideas of young people and built platforms for them.

In Shangrao, Jiangxi Province, behind the noisy gongs and drums, there is a groom riding a bicycle and struggling to get married with his wife. They are all going to attend the collective wedding organized by the county.

Many newcomers are surprised to see each other wearing Hanfu for the first time.

Hua Peng and his wife have known each other for five years. During these five years, they also witnessed the weddings of many relatives and friends.

Hua Peng said, "I have a friend who has been married for five years. I didn't know the exact number of wedding cars when I went. Anyway, 10 more cars, the wedding took two days. I asked him how much he spent, and he said 200,000 to 300,000. "

Five years later, Hua Peng got married, and the pressure was reduced. After the Chinese New Year, the Red and White Council in the village went home to advocate frugality and hold a wedding. As soon as they discussed it, they decided to attend the collective wedding organized by the county.

Xia Yan, Hua Peng's wife, said, "If both parents have to give everything to hold a very luxurious wedding, I feel selfish. In fact, I envy those who work hard with their partners and achieve their own results. I feel very practical and proud. "

Without the ostentation and extravagance of the motorcade and the luxurious banquet, 17 the couple gained happiness in a simple and grand traditional wedding.

The wedding ceremony is a witness to the approaching marriage. Compared with the wedding, in the eyes of some newcomers, getting the certificate is actually more ceremonial, and the civil affairs departments in some places have also introduced wedding-style certification.

In Zhangqiu, Shandong Province, seventeen couples did not go to the Civil Affairs Bureau on the appointed day, but came to this quaint small courtyard. Zhangqiu District of Jinan moved the marriage certificate ceremony to Sandefan Village, a traditional ethnic village. In the presence of the couple's parents and relatives, the staff of the Civil Affairs Bureau issued a marriage certificate for the couple.

Chen Ze and Gao Min are a post-90s couple. After nearly two years of love, they decided to witness their union in this way.

Similar wedding certification is not only implemented in Jinan, but also in many parts of the country. Under normal circumstances, newcomers can enjoy the "wedding authentication" service as long as they make an appointment with the civil affairs department in advance. Some civil affairs departments will also launch some personalized "wedding certification" services on some important festivals and special places from time to time according to the needs of registrants.

Zhang Qingfeng, director of the Civil Affairs Bureau of Zhangqiu District, Jinan City, said: "Marriage certificate is a very important link in the legal sense, but now many young people are busy with work, so it is often easy to get a marriage certificate from the marriage registration office. One of the main purposes of this kind of wedding authentication is to advocate changing customs and traditions, and advocating that it is no longer a big deal; The second is to let the parents and relatives of the newlyweds participate in the registration activities, so that they can increase the sense of ritual in this marriage and enhance their sense of responsibility for marriage. "

The biggest feeling after watching these weddings is: changing the marriage customs is actually to let everything return to basics. This is true whether you get a license or get married. Getting a license is the beginning of the life of two new couples. Oath is both a process and a sincere oath. Weddings and wedding receptions are about sharing joy with friends and family and expressing yearning for a better life. The luxury of banquet can't determine the happiness in the future, but the transmission of love lies in insipid and lasting. This marriage custom not only shows the value of love, but also ennobles the pursuit.