Young people might think that traditional wedding ceremony may only exist in classic operas. They are wrong. Today, traditional wedding ceremony has come back to Shanghai as something of a novelty.

In recent years, western-style marriage celebration has dominated the nuptial market in Shanghai.

It seems that bridal gowns, rose pedals, Champagne, and Western music can be seen and heard everywhere.
"Traditional marriage ceremony has faded out of people's minds for quite some time. However, it has come back recently as a fashion," said a person working with a marriage celebration company. In Fengjing, time-honored town near Shanghai, old-fashioned marriage ceremony has left a vivid picture in the memory of the elderly. They talk about those traditional wishes usually said to the new couple, often arousing young people's curiosity.

This year, old-fashioned marriage ceremony has become part of the celebrating activities for the Shanghai International Tourism Festival. Twenty new couples will be chosen across the city to observe such traditional wedding ceremony. The organizer said the wedding ceremony would take place on a "lucky day" in September. By then, the brides and grooms will dress in the traditional red costume, take a boat ride and throw candies and small scented bags to the masses. The Old Matchmaker will throw the embroidered ball to the couples. Then the new couple will go through an array of traditional marriage procedures, paying respects to Heaven and Earth, hanging the Love Lock, exchanging cups of wine and attending the wedding banquet.

An expert said that traditional marriage has rich cultural meanings. Even though in modern society, Western-style marriage seems to have gained popularity, many people still include traditional marriage activities into their ceremonies. Some couples will eat the jujube and lotus seed sweet soup, making wishes for having a baby in the near future. These wishes, which are expressed through similar pronunciations between Chinese words, are frequently performed by people. "That might be the very reason for the comeback of the old fashion," said the expert.

For young people, however, they might take it merely for a change. At present, many companies can arrange such traditional marriage ceremony for new couples. If the ceremony can let the young couple taste the genuineness of tradition, then why not try it?