Beaker-shaped vase with lotus

Wishes for Harmonious Marriage
Traditionally, Chinese marriages were arranged in a formal process with the emphasis being placed on producing male offspring. Scores of Chinese folk stories express the desire for happiness in marriage and tell tales of love. In addition, folk customs that secured a fortuitous marriage once went hand in hand with traditional symbols for a harmonious marriage:

It was fabled that a certain bride, on leaving the house of her parents to go to that of her husband, was met and devoured by a tiger. [Therefore], in the past, the parents of the bridegroom, to prevent so serious a catastrophe, suspended a piece of meat at the door, as a bribe to this cruel monster. Suspending a looking-glass within the marriage bed was thought to expel all evil spirits that may enter, for evil spirits, or demons, cannot endure to see their own forms. Arranging pans of flowers around the bed was regarded as an offering to the gods to promote the birth of children. (Williams, C. A. S., Outlines of Chinese Symbolism and Art Motives, 1976)

HIDDEN MEANING: May your marriage be blessed with harmony and many sons (hexie; liansheng guizi)!

One of the lotus's many names, Hehua, is a pun for "harmony" (he), so it is a popular symbol for a happy marriage. Lianhua, another name for the lotus, is a pun for "continuous" or "successive" "(lian)," implying the continuous birth of sons.
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