Wedding feasts past and present

"The whole thing"

Mr. Nguyen Huu Tinh, 76 years old, in Tong Hoa village, Doan Ket commune (Thanh Mien) recalls his wedding held 40-50 years ago. At that time, life was still difficult, so the wedding took place quickly, only within the family, without inviting friends or neighbors. To prepare the wedding feast, the family had to raise pigs from the previous year. Well-off families raised 2 pigs. When getting married, the pigs were slaughtered and processed into a feast. The wedding feast in Tong Hoa village usually had pig intestines, boiled or roasted pork, a plate of stir-fried kohlrabi, banana bones and sticky rice. Well-off families had an additional plate of chicken. The feast consisted of only 1 main meal, not many meals like today.

In the past, wedding feasts were mainly supported by relatives and family members, usually only 5-7 trays were prepared, well-off families prepared dozens of trays, few families prepared larger ones because economic conditions did not allow. To cook and prepare the feast, many families had to borrow cooking pots, bowls, chopsticks, tables, chairs, bamboo beds, and mats to spread out to eat.

The wedding feast of Tong Hoa village also has the characteristics of many ancient villages in the North. Although there are variations, depending on the customs and practices of each village, there are not many differences.

In Hoach Trach village, Thai Hoc commune (Binh Giang), the old wedding feast is called "co chua xem" or "co con" (whole feast), which means to prepare a wedding feast that only includes the meat from a pig including: 2 bowls of boiled fatty meat, boiled bones, large intestine, small intestine, ox meat, lean meat... In the feast, there must be a bowl of sour soup to eat with raw vegetables. Mr. Nhu Dinh Hoach, an elderly person in the village, said that when preparing the feast, everyone was excited, the flavor of those dishes was very fragrant and delicious because the pigs were raised entirely on natural food. Life in the past was difficult, famine, and often not enough to eat, so a wedding feast was truly precious, no one left any leftovers or wasted food...

Rich and diverse

As the quality of life improves, wedding feasts also have appropriate variations. Today's wedding feasts, depending on the conditions of each family, have different menus, with a variety of delicious and exotic dishes. Mr. Dang Ba Minh, a wedding feast cook in Thong Kenh commune (Gia Loc), said that each family has different needs and usually has 10-12 dishes, such as: appetizers with seafood soup or chicken soup, chicken, shrimp, squid, beef or veal, soft-shell turtle, various soups, fruit for dessert... If in the past, the feast was arranged neatly and tidily before the diners sat down at the tray, now it is served hot, and the dishes are brought up as the guests eat. "Customers' tastes today are very diverse, they have everything they want, as long as they request it, we will serve them to the fullest. Customers do not have to worry about anything, from dishes, backdrops, to cleaning... all services are provided," said Mr. Minh.

Many large restaurants and hotels in Hai Duong City currently meet all customer requirements for wedding catering services. Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Nhan, manager of Phan Anh restaurant, said: "Wedding catering is very diverse and rich, ranging from about 4 million VND/tray for 10 people. The preparation method also has many changes, the same ingredients of meat, fish... but can add cheese, sauce to create different dishes, meeting all the culinary needs of customers."

In addition to the new dishes, some places still preserve a part of the old traditional wedding feast. Mr. Nguyen Huu Tinh added that when there is a wedding, many families still "cut" the pig and will take 2 pieces of pig belly to make ham rolls. This ham is used in the main feast, the remaining meat is used for the tent setting. "This is a characteristic of our Tong Hoa village to preserve a part of the tradition of our ancestors", Mr. Tinh said.

Although the wedding feast of the past and present has many differences, this is a happy day so everyone wants to organize it as thoroughly and completely as possible within the family's conditions, creating the premise for the newlyweds' life to be warm and full.