Let's look at the explanations of "red" and "white". China Idiom Dictionary explains this: "Red: Red is used for auspicious events. White: White is used for funerals. It refers to weddings and funerals. "
In traditional customs, "red" usually refers to weddings, birthdays, full moons, housewarming and other happy events. In ancient times, when someone met a happy event, they usually hung red lanterns or red silk at the door, so red was usually used for folk happy events. "White" is the antonym of "red". White usually refers to funerals. In ancient times, white lanterns or white silk were usually hung at the door, so white was usually used for folk funerals.
Because red events and white events are often called family events, in order to facilitate communication, people usually put them together, which is often called weddings and funerals in customs.
There is also the following statement about weddings and funerals. In the Qing Dynasty, Qian Yong recorded in "Walking from Words to Gardens": "Between Suzhou and Hangzhou, all weddings, funerals and celebrations are always lasting." The implication is that people call it a wedding ceremony according to the colors used in activities, which has a long history.
Xu Ke, a writer in the Qing Dynasty, explained this to us in "Clearing Banknotes and Mourning Classes": "People have mourning and sorrow. Sadness is greater than heart death? " As the saying goes, "Happy funeral" means that the deceased enjoys both longevity and happiness. In other words, the blessed and long-lived old people die normally, which can be described by weddings, funerals and weddings, which is often called "white marriage". Putting "white wedding" and "red wedding" together is what people often say.
It was recorded in "Augmented Xianwen": "People are sad when they see bald heads, but I am happy when I see bald heads." It is not only conducive to alleviating the sadness of relatives, but also conducive to dispelling the sad atmosphere in the funeral process.
Those who died before the age of 60, especially young people, naturally cannot be considered white marriages. We usually call it short-lived or premature death, which is the real mourning. Therefore, for those who die short-lived, their families will not make a fuss about their funerals. Therefore, the so-called white wedding event refers to the funeral held after the normal death of a long and happy old man.