Marriage in the West

　　元旦在中国人眼里，不仅代表着新一年的到来，而且象征着幸福、安详、美好的开始，是一个喜庆的日子。在这一天有许多年轻人携手走向婚礼的殿堂。西方人在举行婚礼时，服装等常以白色为主，象征着纯洁。中国人却以红色为主色调，以示喜庆。虽然近些年来，白色婚纱在中国婚礼上也时有出现，但一套红色礼服依然是新娘的必备。此外，婚礼仪式在不同的文化背景下也是各有特色。

　　求婚

　　In modern America, many things have lost their form alities such as the marriage proposal. The man getting down on one knee and asking the woman, "Susan, will you marry me?" is not a common sight now. But this practice , being a tradition, still lives as a romantic episode in people's minds.

　　Considering that kneeling typically indicates abase ment, it would be curious that the man should offer a p roposal in a kneeling position. Actually, in the majori ty of marriages, even today, the man seldom feels like being abased. The probable explanation is that there ar e vestiges of chivalry involved here. Knights in the se rvice of a lady would frequently display their readines s to take orders by bending the knee in the mistress' p resence. Similarly, the modern version in marriage indi cates that the man is willingly at the service of the w oman, and is ready to offer his husbandly "services". B oth the modern and the medieval gestures suggest the sa me necessary fiction: the idea that in spite of their e conomic and political powerlessness, it is really women who control social affairs. This is another example of the respecting ploy, as in Ladies First, that is, by ke eping women flattered, the modern version of chivalry k eeps them submissive and the willing victims of male "e steem".