Rites of Passage

Baptism, confirmation, marriage, and death in Shung Him Tong are marked by special church rituals, but births are not. In Shung Him Tong, as in other parts of Hong Kong, many believe that a mother should stay at home with her newborn for one month and not receive visitors who are not part of the immediate family (see also Topley 1974:234). The new mother should be fed special foods such as pickled ginger, pig knuckles and tendons cooked with eggs and ginger, and chicken cooked in wine, which are believed to give her strength. Births, particularly those of sons, are often celebrated with a banquet a month after the birth. In the past, the child received his or her name on that day. Besides a possible announcement at the Sunday service, no special or additional church celebrations occur until the time of a child's baptism.

Three or four times a year, groups of three or more people are baptized or confirmed at the end of the Sunday service. On one occasion there were three adults and four children; three of the children were babies and one was a boy about seven years old. Children may be baptized as infants but some parents prefer that their children be baptized when they are old enough to decide for themselves. Most children are confirmed when they are in their early or mid-teens. Adults who wish to join the church must be baptized but need not be confirmed. If they were already baptized at another church of a different denomination and wish to join Shung Him Tong, they need not be baptized again. Instead they take part in a short ceremony that is "like a baptism without the water." One man reminisced that in the 1920s and 1930s there were very large groups baptized at once, and often whole families were baptized together. Today the number of baptisms has decreased (see fig. 1).

Traditionally, all birthdays were celebrated on, and calculated from, the seventh day of the new year, but today in all of Hong Kong individual birthdays have become more important. While birthdays of elders, and men in particular, have long been considered significant by the Chinese, birthday celebrations for the young have only recently become more popular. The church plays a special role in the celebration of young people's birthdays. Youth group members hold two large birthday celebrations a year celebrating all the birthdays of youth group members that fall within a six-month period. As at Christmas, gifts given at these occasions are "from the church" and are distributed at random. Birthdays of individual youth group members are also sometimes recognized with a cake, a few gifts, and a small party. As with most Chinese, birth-

days in Shung Him Tong are deemed increasingly important as a person grows older, especially the sixtieth birthday, which marks a complete cycle of the Chinese calendar. After the age of sixty, birthdays are celebrated by the entire extended family. On his ninetieth birthday, one man from the village held a huge celebration to which friends, relatives, and prominent people in Hong Kong were invited. This was considered a particularly extravagant event by any Hong Kong standards.

More than any other occasion, marriage ceremonies come closest to illustrating the dual or perhaps triple system of beliefs that exist in Shung Him Tong. Until recently, a marriage in Shung Him Tong might have included three different ceremonies: a church ceremony, a civil ceremony at the city hall, and a "traditional" Chinese tea ceremony and banquet. A few years ago the minister of Shung Him Tong received the legal right to perform marriage ceremonies so marriage at the city hall is no longer necessary.

During the year I was in Shung Him Tong there were only two weddings, one church and one village. The village wedding was on a Sunday while most people were at church. Because the groom and his family were Christian, although the bride was not, the pastor was invited to come and lead a prayer and hymn and give his blessings after the ceremony. The church wedding I attended resembled in all respects a traditional western church wedding. The bride wore an ornate white lace gown and the groom a tuxedo. A flower girl carried a basket of flowers and a little boy was the ring bearer. The bride's father walked her down the aisle and "gave her away." The minister gave a short sermon and led a prayer. Then the church choir sang, followed by the exchange of vows. The bride and groom placed their hands on a Bible and agreed to the vows and signed the wedding certificate. This was followed by another prayer and a hymn, after which the bride and groom proceeded out of the hall, followed by the minister, both families, the choir, and the guests.

After the ceremony an informal reception was held downstairs in the church. Photography was the main event. Bride and groom posed as they cut the cake and with each of the guests in turn. Following the church wedding, the bride and groom returned to the groom's parents' house for the tea ceremony. Again the photographer was given a central spot from which to record the event. The bride and groom each carried a cup of tea, which they served to his parents. The parents then handed them each a red envelope containing gifts of money or jewelry, told them to treat each other well, took a sip from the cups for the sake of a photograph, and then vacated their seats so the eldest brother and his wife could be served. They too feigned drinking the tea just long enough for a photograph, as did the next brother and his wife. And so it went down the line of descent, with each pair served in the same seats and

the photographer busily snapping away. The bride's parents had been served before the church ceremony. Non-Christian brides and grooms kneel at the feet of their parents as they present them with tea, but Shung Him Tong Christians believe they "should not bow or kneel before anyone but God." After the tea ceremony, the bride changed into a red Chinese-style wedding dress and the family set off for the restaurant banquet.

The church ceremony and reception lasted only an hour, and like the tea ceremony, appeared hasty and superficial. The most important consideration appeared to be the photo-taking. While everyone from the church was invited to the church ceremony and reception, only the immediate family attended the tea ceremony; family, some church members, friends, and associates from outside the church community were invited to the banquet.