Wedding Canopy Flowers

Wedding Canopy Flowers

　　People in northern Shaanxi refer to the bridal chamber as the “canopy room.” Upon entering, the bride first takes her seat in the canopy, and the “wedding canopy flowers” are the decorative paper-cuts pasted on the canopy room’s ceiling.

　　In northern Shaanxi weddings, other furniture in the canopy room may be optional, but the wedding canopy flowers are indispensable. According to the hosts’ preferences, the designs can vary in size and come in a wide range of themes. Typically round or diamond-shaped, these flowers often depict peonies, lotuses, dragons and phoenixes, pomegranates, peaches, entwined snakes and rabbits, coins, and human figures. Most women can cut these patterns with scissors, and even those who can’t will hire someone to do it. Skilled women and newlyweds are often asked to cut window decorations and wedding canopy flowers at the turn of the year.

　　Regardless of family wealth, the canopy room is always decorated in an elegant and generous manner. After the bride enters the canopy room, an elderly woman performs the hair ritual for her. During this ritual, a grain-measuring bucket (dou) is placed beneath the wedding canopy flowers, and the bride and groom sit back-to-back on the bucket. The elderly woman uses a double-toothed wooden comb to style the bride’s hair over the groom’s head — also called “joining heads.” While combing, she also sings folk songs, the content of which reflects the themes of the wedding canopy flowers. One such song goes: “A fairy peach with lotus, a couple joined in fate; stepping on lotus, holding a reed pipe, a boy on the left, a girl on the right, a newlywed pair. A pomegranate pressed into a peony, pressing down a whole spread (meaning abundant). Beneath their bodies lies a treasure basin, ensuring the bride will bear noble children. Raise girls to be clever, cut pomegranates and peonies; raise boys to be fine, dressed in long robes and official hats...” After the combing, the bride and groom drink the nuptial cup, and the elderly woman styles the bride’s hair into a bun. In northern Shaanxi, there’s also a saying: “An entwined snake and rabbit surely bring wealth,” meaning that it’s ideal for someone born in the Year of the Snake to marry someone born in the Year of the Rabbit. The entwined snake and rabbit design in the wedding canopy flowers symbolizes this belief. Though it’s an ancient custom in northern Shaanxi, it shows that the people here have always pursued a beautiful life and aspired to a bright future.

　　In recent years, Ansai paper-cutting exhibitions held both domestically and abroad have earned praise from experts around the world. Especially the wedding canopy flowers, which have attracted many foreign visitors. The homes of two master paper-cutters from Ansai, Li Xiufang and Wang Xian, have been designated as tourist sites by the Shaanxi Provincial Tourism Bureau, receiving numerous international guests. Their wedding canopy flower creations are in high demand.