Something evil: China wedding haze craze escalates as bridesmaids tied to lamp post and put in
Video of a group of men in China hauling bridesmaids from the boot of a wedding car before tying them to lamp posts and igniting firecrackers beneath their flammable dresses has caused widespread outrage on mainland social media.
As fire and thick smoke envelop them, the women can be seen trying to shield their faces while not a single bystander steps forward to help. The person recording the scene also does not appear to intervene.
Absurd wedding pranks are not uncommon in China, but the video has reignited a backlash against the growing trend for extreme behaviour.
“This is not a cultural tradition. It’s just an excuse to do something evil,” one online commenter said in response to the video, which also showed the groomsmen fleeing the scene after lighting the firecrackers.
Government officials in Qujing city in the southern province of Yunnan are working to verify claims that the incident took place in their district.
A local wedding planner told Upstream News that extreme wedding pranks are not a local tradition but have been adopted from other regions over the past five to six years.
An online commenter suggested that such practices are likely to have been taken from nearby counties, such as Luoping or Fuyuan.
Many social media comments expressed shock at the plight of the women in the video: “They have no safety awareness at all. The bridesmaids were wearing gauzy clothes, which could easily catch fire,” said one.
“Where are the bride and groom? Isn’t anyone going to intervene? This is not simply a wedding prank, it is a threat to personal safety. I hope the bridesmaids will file a lawsuit against them,” another post read.
“Let’s boycott vulgar and dangerous wedding prank behaviour and advocate civilised wedding customs,” a commenter replied.
Hazing is a feature of traditional Chinese weddings and is meant to create a fun, carnival atmosphere. However, in recent years there have been several cases of pranks getting out of control.
Three days before the video emerged, another bridesmaid in eastern China’s Shandong province was struck by a falling door frame when the groomsmen used excessive force in a door-blocking ceremony at the bride’s family home.
In October 2017, a man in the southern province of Guangdong was bound to a lamp post with firecrackers attached to his buttocks. His resulting injuries required hospital treatment.
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