Definition

1. Noun:
   • A wedding ceremony held in haste before a funeral: "chạy tang" refers specifically to the practice of conducting a wedding ceremony quickly, before the funeral of a close relative (from either the bride's or groom's family) takes place. This is done to avoid a prolonged period of mourning, which would delay the wedding.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Gia đình tổ chức chạy tang vì ông nội cô dâu đang hấp hối. (The family held a mourning-avoiding wedding because the bride's grandfather was dying.)
  • Theo phong tục, nếu có tang, đám cưới phải hoãn lại; chạy tang là một ngoại lệ. (According to custom, if there is a funeral, the wedding must be postponed; a wedding held before a funeral is an exception.)

Advanced Usage

• This term is deeply rooted in traditional Vietnamese customs concerning marriage, mourning, and auspicious timing. It highlights a conflict between social obligations (mourning) and personal/family milestones (marriage). The practice is less common in modern urban settings.

Variants and Related Words

• Cưới chạy tang (Compound Noun): This is the full, more specific phrase meaning "a mourning-avoiding wedding." "Chạy tang" is the shortened, colloquial form of this concept.
  • Lễ cưới chạy tang được tổ chức một cách đơn giản và vội vã. (The mourning-avoiding wedding ceremony was organized simply and hastily.)

Synonyms

• Wedding held before a funeral: A direct descriptive synonym in English.
• Hasty wedding due to impending mourning: A longer descriptive phrase explaining the circumstance.

Related Idioms

• While "chạy tang" itself is a specific term, it relates to broader cultural idioms about "chạy" (running/racing against) time or fate, and "tang" (mourning) as a period of social and ritual restriction.

1. Mourning-avoiding
   • cưới chạy tang
     wedding (hurriedly held while a member of either party's family was dying or his death had not been announced)