Picturesque and Original Ceremony at Civic Centre:
Bid to Reduce Marriage Costs People from near and far flocked to the Civic Centre at Kiangwan last Wednesday to witness fan historic event——Shangha's first mass marriage, By three o'clock, the hour set for the start of the ceremony, a crowd _estimat-more' than ten thousand the spacious entrance, while in the rested against police cordons around
great hall-o¢ the. building hundreds ficussed their eyes on the "doors. Datlde, 2 band aire wp the ope ing bars of a. wedding processional, and, "despite the warning of @ d ited for all to" remain in their Sent, quieuy realizing the solemnly the occasion, a but of conversttim filed the oom. Pew itt thie Ent witness the futile forts of the aces fo eer out of the windows
alles to hold, back throngs deler-Ried to. view the. 37 brides and Frovms at lower range.
and then, fled. with enthusiasm for Toran mant, he ae wavered
WBS une old marriage forms, few ARS New Lo Movement, which had open forward. Hundreds {red asthe brides fled from the Hight side of the building, and. the oom from the left and made their Soy slowly around the sem-ereular atives, to paren up the Long parallel StaWregeeg Teasing to the great hall {long before they started the ascent, Matter of people had made a living Hetncough "which "the couple assed under a gay banner of red Open which. golden characters pro-CRimed upifst Occasion of Mass Marriages in Shanghol.™ economy for Brides The brides, gowned at a cost reported to be only $15, wore veils of fight pink, caught into a cap shape with Tibands of satin, and wore Chinese gowns of satin, tinted pink Their shower bouquets were of carnations, and most wore silver slippers. "They were led by Mrs. Chang Ping-hui. The grooms, each wearing along gown of blue silk and a_black silk coat upon which was pinned a scarlet badge, were led by Mr. Chang Ping-bul, chief of the 4th Department of the Bureau fof Social Affairs.
In the hall, lighted with huge Chinese lanterns of Peiping glass, Gen. Wu Te-chen, Mayor of Shanghai, and Mr. Wa Hsin-ya, Commissioner of the Bureau of Social Affairs, waited to witness the ceremonies. The stage where the witnesses waited was bright with coverings of scarlet Hiely embroidered in gold, while two enormous scarlet candles embossed ember with Chinese characters in red and fold flanked the platform. These characters, one of the few old sym~ Dols to be retained, expressed the wish for "100 years of harmony" and Invoked even he insect kingdom to join in the rejoicing and good wishes for the occasion,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.