15. 喜事相冲
Weddings and Events
1970年以前，吉澳的嫁娶是依照傳統儀式的，也就是出動大紅花轎迎接新娘。往時客家人結婚，新郎是不用親自出馬接新娘的，可以安坐家中等待花轎把新娘送到自家門口。迎親隊由一位父老帶隊，有花轎、麒麟、樂隊和幾個拿着彩旗的小孩組成，那時不需要戥穿石，新娘家也沒有姊妹團索取開門利是。六十年代我曾經在吉澳目睹一件婚禮小插曲。正常新娘坐船接回碼頭便可再上花轎，由轎夫抬到新郎家門。但這次新娘要中途下轎步行，原因是有家人剛產下嬰兒未滿月，出生與結婚两種喜事相冲，為了避煞，新娘路過這家人時便要落轎步行，依習俗步行時腳不可直接碰地，要由两個婦人拿着窩欄（見圖）輪流放在地上，新娘踏着窩欄依次而行。
吉澳客家人有另一個習俗，凡有初生嬰兒未滿月的家庭，大門會日夜關上，門上掛一束草和一隻草鞋，作用是辟邪，同時告訴外人內有新生嬰兒，不可內進。今天想來，這也不算迷信，產婦和新生嬰兒防疫力脆弱，能夠少與外人接觸，可以减少感染。
Before 1970, marriages in Kat O followed traditional rituals. For example, a large red sedan chair was sent to pick up the bride. The groom waited at home for the sedan chair to bring the bride to his doorstep. The bridal procession, led by an elder, consisted of a sedan chair, a qilin, a band and several children carrying colourful flags. In those days, there was no need for negotiations or dowries, and the bride's family did not require gifts from the groom’s side.
In the 1960s, I witnessed a wedding incident on Kat O. The bride was normally picked up by boat and taken to the pier and then carried to the groom's house in a sedan chair. But on this occasion, the bride had to get out of the sedan chair and walk at one point, because a family member had recently given birth. To avoid any bad luck from the celebration of two joyous events, the bride had to get out of the sedan chair and walk when she passed this family member. According to the custom, however, her feet could not touch the ground directly when she walked, so two women took turns putting a bar on the ground, which the bride stepped on to avoid touching the ground.
The Hakka people of Kat O had another custom when a family had a baby less than a month old. They would keep their door closed day and night and hang a bunch of grass and a straw shoe on the outside of the door to ward off evil spirits. At the same time, this would signal to outsiders that there was a newborn baby inside, so they should not enter. Today, this is not mere superstition. Mothers in labour and newborn babies have fragile immune systems, so limiting contact with outsiders can help reduce the risk of infection.
