The Chinese New Year's Season is also wedding season. At this time of year, future brides and grooms going hand in hand to present round, flat wedding cakes to friends and relatives is a common sight. Wedding cakes are traditionally given as a prelude to the wedding ceremony, and a way of spreading news of the marriage.

In ancient times, when a daughter married into her husband's family, the wedding banquet was given by the parents of the groom. They would also arrange for the baking of wedding cakes, which would be distributed by the bride's family to announce the wedding to friends and relatives. The cake was a form of confirmation that the marriage would definitely take place.

In traditional Chinese society, a number of bedding and clothing articles had to be sewn and embroidered prior to the wedding, and the time span between the engagement and wedding ceremony was thus quite long. Cakes were given at both the time of engagement and the time of the actual wedding. Now, the period between both events is shorter, and cakes are sent only once, after the engagement and before the wedding.

There are two main types of Chinese wedding cakes: sesame cakes and sweet bean cakes. The cakes are large and flat, with various fillings wrapped inside a wheat flour crust. The sesame cake is topped with sesame seeds, and filled with meats, dried shrimp, sweetened beans and nuts, and spiced with the Five Chinese Flavorings. Sweet bean cakes are filled with sweetened white, green, black or red beans, with other flavorings sometimes added.

The two types are sent together. The sesame cake represents the bride, while the sweet bean cake, with a picture of a groom riding a horse stamped on the top, represents the groom.

The tradition of sending large, flat wedding cakes originated in Fukien province, and remained unchanged for many generations. The size and number of cakes sent out was a matter of face. Cakes could often be quite large, some reaching seven to eight Chinese kilograms. Today in Tainan, where traditional wedding cake customs have been best retained on Taiwan, most cakes weigh three to four kilograms, and one to two hundred kilograms of cakes are usually sent.

The total weight of the wedding cakes was traditionally determined by the matchmaker. Their numerical weight in Chinese kilograms had to be divisible by two, to represent the wedding couple. If the total number of kilograms was 100, a small number of extras would be added as a symbol of the groom's future successes.

In previous times, the groom's family prepared gifts of jewelry, clothes, textiles, incense, candles, candy, dried foods and wedding cakes, and placed them in square containers called sheng to send to the family of the bride. The gift was merely symbolic however, and always returned to represent the bride's family's uncovetous nature. But the sweet, tasty wedding cakes, a particular treat in a simple agricultural society, were generally not returned.

In recent years, wedding cakes have changed in form and nature. The first major change began in 1961, when Tainan's Wanch'uan cake factory began making smaller cakes with thinner crusts and more generous fillings. The number of types and flavors was also increased, and six were sent together instead of two. While wedding cakes were traditionally wrapped in paper, Wanch'uan packaged their "minicakes" in bright red boxes, decorated on top with a gold phoenix and dragon, and the Chinese character for double happiness.

In 1973, I Mei Foods began to market western-style butter cookies, to be used for the same purpose as the cakes. The small, crisp cookies, often flavored with nuts or chocolate, won instant popularity for their simplicity and convenience. The cost of their production was also lower than for cakes, as the process could be easily mechanized.

Soon, other companies such as Maria's, Keewah, Huach'i and Hony followed I Mei's example and began marketing carefully baked and packaged wedding cookies. Western-style cakes, candies and other sweets are also packaged and sold for wedding purposes.

Cookies are now the most commonly given form of "wedding cake". Traditional cakes have not disappeared, but are more popular in smaller, local areas. The Hsuehuachai and Lichi companies in Fengyuan still sell traditional sweet green bean cakes. And Tainan's Chiu-yung-jui-chen company is still famous for its sweet black bean cakes.

Despite changes in the nature of Chinese wedding ceremonies, the practice of sending wedding pastries has not diminished. Although these gifts are no longer used as a form of announcement, they continue to add to the excitement and festivity of the wedding event.

(Jill Ardourel)

[Picture Caption]

1. Wedding cakes are a part of the betrothal gifts given to the bride's family by the groom's family. The photo shows decoratively wrapped modern style cakes. 2. In Tainan, the total mass of the wedding cakes is still a matter of face. Shown are traditional style cakes which fill every inch of their package.

1. Hand in hand, the young couple will give gifts of wedding cakes to friends and relatives at the engagement. 2.3. New forms of wedding cakes are stamped with exquisite patterns, while the older types are made with more emphasis on the ingredients. 4. Winter melon candy often accompanies a gift of a wedding cake, and is also a part of the betrothal gifts. 5. A wide array of new wedding pastries and sweets.

2. In Tainan, the total mass of the wedding cakes is still a matter of face. Shown are traditional style cakes which fill every inch of their package.

1. Hand in hand, the young couple will give gifts of wedding cakes to friends and relatives at the engagement.

2.3. New forms of wedding cakes are stamped with exquisite patterns, while the older types are made with more emphasis on the ingredients.

2.3. New forms of wedding cakes are stamped with exquisite patterns, while the older types are made with more emphasis on the ingredients.

Winter melon candy often accompanies a gift of a wedding cake, and is also a part of the betrothal gifts.

5. A wide array of new wedding pastries and sweets.