Folk Customs of Praying for a Son

Passing over Bags for an Offspring

Nowadays at weddings when the bridal sedan chair reaches the gate, people spread felt mats in the gateway. They pass the mats on which the bride has walked successively to the front from behind for her to walk along. This custom started in the Tang Dynasty.

Now people in Hangzhou popularly use ricebags to replace felt mats. This custom is called "passing over the bags", or "passing over bags after bags". The word "bags" here serves as a pun for the word "generations".