1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 554 Luberon's Wedding Customs

When Luo Tianhai and Feng Zhen left their hometown, they were still young and didn't remember many Chinese wedding customs. Zoe was from Lourmaran, and the wedding was held there, so they followed local customs and held their wedding according to local traditions.

For religious reasons, the province of Vaucluse places great importance on the union of newlyweds and the birth of newborns, and there are many interesting customs and traditions associated with holding weddings here.

A week before the wedding, Zoe led the Stusgard crew and artists to decorate Lourmaran Castle.

But it's not just one place that needs to be decorated during the wedding.

The day before the wedding.

Just as dawn was breaking, Ronan was awakened by the sound of his alarm clock.

According to Provençal custom, the day before the wedding, the 'wedding route' is decorated, which is the road from the bride and groom's home to the wedding venue.

This custom can only be performed the day before the wedding, and it must be done under the witness of the sun.

To ensure the tradition was completed on time and perfectly, Ronan had to go out to work early in the morning.

The day before, Cornell and his friends helped Ronan prepare pine branches, cypress branches, flowers, and ribbons, which were piled up in the most conspicuous place by the door.

But when Ronan finished breakfast and opened the door, he found that more than half of his things were missing.

"Where are my things?" Ronan rushed over to check, utterly astonished. "Wait... people steal things like this?"

Several thefts have recently occurred in Lourmaran, all committed by tourists from other areas.

Ronan had considered whether it was safe to leave these things outdoors, but pine and cypress branches are everywhere, so who would steal them?
Isn't this just a case of having too much time on one's hands?

Unexpectedly, these 'junk' items really did 'disappear without a trace'.

He was about to go back and call Cornell to tell him to hurry up and prepare the replacement when he suddenly heard the sound of a thousand troops coming from the end of the asphalt road behind him. Then, a dozen or so teenagers, both boys and girls, ran out from around the corner.

The older children carried schoolbags on their backs, while the younger ones were just past the age of wearing open-crotch pants.

The children rushed over aggressively, and without saying a word, each of them grabbed some pine branches, cypress branches, flowers, and ribbons from the doorway and ran back.

Ronan couldn't remember all the children's names, but he knew Allehir well, who had once hosted the Lourmaran Cup "Whose Fish Holds Its Breath the Longest" competition, and the fish at the wedding would be provided by his father.

"Wait, wait!" Ronan grabbed Allehir's backpack. "What are you doing with these?"

Allehir replied:
"To arrange the wedding route."

Ronan said, both amused and exasperated:

"There are so many adults in the village, why would we need your help? Put it down and go to school."

In the days leading up to the wedding, the villagers of Lourmaran did their best to help Ronan. But isn't it a bit much to involve the children too?

Allehir tilted his head back and said:
“Arranging a wedding path will bring good luck to young people, especially since I, who am not married, also want to find a beautiful wife like you.”

Before Ronan could react, Allahir slipped from his grasp like a fish.

"Let me go quickly, the school bus is coming soon! I still need to go to school after decorating the wedding route."

Ronan shouted at him speechlessly:

"So you know you still have to go to school?"

How old are you, and you're already thinking about getting married?!
No sooner had he finished speaking than a little boy tugged at Ronan's trouser leg:
"Uncle Ronan, the ribbons are all gone. I want more ribbons."

Ronan picked up the girl, who looked to be only five or six years old, and carried her in his arms.

"Are you going to help too?"

The little girl, who was missing a front tooth, blushed and said:

“Mom said that helping you plan your wedding route will bring you the same good luck as you. Mom said you are the luckiest person in Lourmaran. I got up at 4 a.m. to wait!”

According to the traditions of the Luberon village, helping newlyweds set up their "wedding path" brings them the same good fortune as the couple. For those who are not yet married, it also symbolizes that they may find their other half, like the happy newlyweds, and walk down the aisle together.

Ronan and Zoe are undoubtedly the two luckiest people in Lourmaran, and their love is the envy of many. Almost every young person wants to share in their happiness.

It wasn't even 8 a.m. yet, and the wedding route from Ronan's house to the center of Lourmaran village was almost completely set up. It was estimated that in another two hours, the route would be successfully paved to the castle.

Ronan, carrying flowers and pine branches, joined the working group. Before long, he heard a commotion not far away.

"Henry, what brings you here, you old codger?" Theo, who had come to help Ronan, spotted Henry planting pine branches on the road and couldn't help but make a few sarcastic remarks. "Lisa's already of marriageable age, do you still want to take a second wife?"

Henry retorted with a torrent of curses:

"Shut your mouth, Theo! Mr. Ronan has a lot to do today, what's wrong with me helping out? On the contrary, who knows what you're up to, trying to steal the young man's work."

Theo retorted:

"You think you know how to help? Lucas is busy decorating the wedding route at Zoe's house. When it comes to brothers, the three of us are the best!"

Henry and Theo's bickering was a regular occurrence, and Ronan knew they wouldn't actually fight on such a joyous occasion, so he changed the subject to interrupt them:
"That's strange. I didn't see any girls on the way. Were they all going to the section from Zoe's house to the castle?"

Ronan only saw a few little girls all morning; he didn't see a single older girl.

If this is a local custom, it's impossible that only men come to share in the joy.

Don't girls want to find a good partner?
Theo chuckled and said:

"Of course not. I bet all the young girls in the village are at Zoe's house right now. She's busier than you, the groom, today."

The wedding route from Ronan's house to Lourmaran Castle was arranged very smoothly. Once this section is finished, all the young men in the village will move on to arrange the section from Zoe's house to the castle.

Ronan, curious about what the bride would be busy with today, followed the wedding path to Zoe's house.

In Provence, there is no custom that the bride and groom cannot see each other before the wedding, and Ronan and Zoe have been seeing each other every day for the past few days.

The wedding route on the bride's side was no different from that on the groom's side, but when they were still some distance from Zoe's house, Ronan heard faint singing.

After walking for a while, Zoe's familiar old house came into view, with several girls standing at the door, as if they were queuing up.

"What are they doing inside?" Ronan asked the girl at the back of the line.

When the girl saw Ronan arrive, she stepped aside to let him in.

"They're sending 'blessings'."

"A blessing? In the form of singing?" Ronan had witnessed another interesting new custom.

The girl explained with a smile: "According to local custom, on the morning before the wedding, young girls sing in front of the bride's window and offer their best wishes, which is a good omen for both parties."

Ronan nodded and entered the courtyard, where he discovered that the person singing inside was Sylvie, and that she was singing in the Provençal dialect.

The song being sung is a very classic local folk song called "The Best of René," which praises René I, Duke of Anjou, who was deeply loved by the people of Provence in the 15th century. This song is often sung at various Provençal festivals and celebrations.

After the song ended, Zoe inside the room said a few words of thanks. Then Sylvie stood by the window, and the girl behind her took her place. She also sang a song in dialect, but the song was different, though it was still a song for festivals and celebrations.

After giving his blessings, Sylvie was about to leave when he turned around and saw Ronan arrive, so he stopped and chatted with him for a bit.

"There were so many people coming to offer their blessings, I almost missed it!" Sylvie said to Ronan, pointing to her wrist.

Ronan said with a smile:
"Then come back later, during your lunch break."

Sylvie smacked her lips a few times:
“You don’t understand. This custom can only be done in the morning. And in my grandmother’s time, the singing had to be done before sunrise. If it was done at noon, it would be too late.”

Ronan tried to find the right words:
"Is it necessary to send blessings so early?"

Sylvie glanced at the time, confirming that she shouldn't be late after finishing her lesson with Ronan.
"This custom is called 'morning song.' Originally, it was about girls singing under the bride's window before sunrise to wake her up and offer blessings. But many customs have gradually disappeared, and those that have been preserved have changed. Now the time is not so strict; it can be done in the morning too."

Ronan nodded, and said with feeling:
"Provence has so many wedding customs."

This is only the day before the wedding; there will be even more rules tomorrow!
Sylvie looked disappointed.

"Only a small part remains now. Hundreds of years ago, Luberon's wedding would last for seven days, with many things to do every day. Okay, I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going to be late for work."

After watching Sylvie leave, Ronan entered Zoe's house.

One singer after another sang at the entrance, and the bride had to keep saying thank you.

Once inside, Ronan discovered that the bride had much more to do than just this one thing.

Ronan and Zoe have been meeting up frequently lately, but not at Zoe's house.

In just a few days, the house, which was already overcrowded by Zoe's shopping spree, has become an even more crowded, but warm and lively "general store".

The restaurant table, which could seat more than a dozen people at the same time, was piled up so high that the tabletop was almost invisible.

The thick linen tablecloths were stacked more than a meter high, each with a beautiful Provençal print or an elegant trim. Next to them were heavy sets of tableware wrapped in kraft paper, with shimmering silver light peeking out from the gaps in some of the kraft paper.

Along the walls and on the floor were rows of wicker baskets, filled with fabrics of all shapes, sizes and colors.

The most terrifying area in the entire living room is the sofa.

A large sofa and two small single sofas were almost buried under a mountain of embroidered quilts, and Zoe stood next to them like a miniature doll.

"Could these all have been given to us by the villagers?" This was the only possibility Ronan could think of.

“Thank you, Rosephne!” Zoe received another blessing and went to the window to express her gratitude before replying to Ronan, “Yes, and this is only part of it. There are many more in Mom and Dad’s bedroom, my bedroom, and Vieri’s bedroom.”

Ronan forced a smile:
"At least I have a studio to store things; I can put quite a lot there."

It's only the beginning of the day, so there should still be people coming to give gifts.

Vieri's head peeked out from the side of the embroidered quilt:
"Zoe's studio is a million times more chaotic than this!"

"Huh?" Ronan looked to Zoe for help, "Didn't we move all our things to my place?"

Zoe, as if about to faint, held her forehead and said to Vieri:
"Thank you so much, I had just forgotten about it. Could you please stop reminding me that my studio has completely 'exploded'!"

A few minutes later, Ronan saw the studio after the 'explosion'.

It's no exaggeration to say that this place looks like it's been hit by a missile.

Unidentified liquids were splattered on the walls, and the floor was covered with wood chips and strange parts. There were two workbenches that Zoe hadn't moved; one was missing a leg, and the other had a blackened surface, as if something had been burned on it.

Louis was sitting at the charred workbench, wearing reading glasses, carving something on a box with a knife and fork in the same posture.

What are you doing—

Ronan's appearance startled Louis, and the carving knife rubbed violently against the wooden board, making an unpleasant noise that made one's teeth ache.

The two of them screamed in terror at the same time.

"What are you doing?" Ronan forced himself to walk into the studio, which felt like a battlefield.

Louis took off his reading glasses and spoke rapidly:
“We are making a ‘Hope Box’ for Zoe, which will contain the dowry prepared by the bride’s family. According to Provençal custom, the ‘Hope Box’ must be made by the bride’s father himself.”

Louis is the kind of person who can cause trouble even if he does nothing. If he were to make a box, he would probably blow up the workshop.

Ronan patiently persuaded him:
“Sylvie just told me that the customs can be slightly modified. We’re getting married tomorrow, and there are still many things to do, all of which will require your help. Why don’t we put the Box of Hope aside for now and do something else?”

Rules are rules, but people are flexible, buddy.

Why make things difficult for yourself and others?

Louis stubbornly put on his reading glasses and continued carving the wooden board with his head down:
"Originally, I wanted to carve Zoe's first piece on the box, the deer you remember? But now I've simplified it and will carve simple line drawings of you and Zoe. Look, the outlines of both of you are drawn, only some details are missing. It will be finished soon, really soon."

"Then I'll teach you how to use a carving knife, but don't hurt yourself." Ronan didn't stop him anymore.

He understands a father's desire to do something for his daughter.

But you can't hold the knife like that.

"It won't hurt you," Louis said without even looking up. "I've been making a living my whole life, dealing with knives every day."

"Sizzle—" The tooth-aching noise that sent chills down Ronan's spine resurfaced, and he fled the scene without a second thought.

Yes, you won't get hurt.

The poor piece of wood was the one that got hurt!

After closing the studio door, Ronan said to Zoe, who refused to go inside and was only waiting at the door:
"Let's find a way to make Louis stop; the way he holds the carving knife is terrifying."

God, how did he manage to endure that tooth-aching sound for so long without running away?
Zoe crossed her arms and frowned slightly.
"I don't have time to deal with that right now."

"Are there any other customs to observe today?" Ronan pressed.

Zoe sighed and said, word by word:
“We need to think about how to move the gifts the villagers gave us to your house tomorrow. According to Provençal custom, wedding gifts from relatives and friends are also part of the ‘dowry’ and will go with the bride to her new home. Our original plan was to walk to the castle, but now that we have so many extra ‘dowries,’ should we change the way we do it?”

(End of this chapter)