Chinese weddings: Why do brides wear huge 24-karat golden pigs around their necks?
Contemporary aesthetic concepts of ‘minimalism’ and ‘simplicity’ are cast aside at traditional Chinese weddings, where brides are weighed down with up to 1kg of audacious, gleaming gold jewellery – including a chubby pig necklace
Have you ever noticed Chinese brides, resplendent in their traditional, shimmering, metallic-thread, embroidered gowns, and then also noticed they were wearing an outrageously oversized, gold pig necklace?
That shiny 24-karat gold pig necklace – typically depicting a chubby, grinning mother pig with a row of dangling piglets – is, in fact, steeped in Chinese tradition. It continues to be hugely popular with Chinese brides who like to pair it with traditional dresses at their nuptials.
Many consider the pig necklace as equally important as the other must-have 24-karat gold bridal jewellery items, including the dragon and phoenix bangles, and a set which includes a necklace, earrings, bracelets and ring in matching floral designs.
Contemporary aesthetic concepts such as “minimalism” and “simplicity” do not apply here: brides are supposed to stack them up and pile them on. Some Chinese brides from affluent families have been seen weighed down with more than 1kg of gold jewellery.
Steeped in culture, traditional Chinese wedding jewellery is rich in auspicious meaning and symbolism. Most of the gold bridal jewellery designs are bought by the senior members of the couple’s families before the wedding and gifted to the couple as an expression of their well wishes.
Unlike in some Western countries, in traditional agrarian Chinese society, pigs were not associated with laziness and gluttony. Rather, they were considered cute, kind, happy and lucky. They embodied wealth, abundance and prosperity; the more affluent a household, the more pigs it owned. Pigs were among the favourite motifs in Chinese folkloric arts such as paper-cut designs put up during festivities.
More importantly, they symbolised fertility: Just imagine the suckling pigs busily feeding themselves while basking in their mother’s tender love. Brides slightly on the plump side were highly desirable because they were considered highly fertile. And continuing the family lineage was the absolute top priority in the olden days. Some would say this desire to grow the family tree continues to this day.