Kindergarten marries off students

More than a hundred preschoolers got "married" in a group wedding at a kindergarten in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province on Jan 11, which was held as part of the kindergarten's development education, according to Zhengzhou Evening News.

During the ceremony, the "grooms" and "brides" were dressed in suites and wedding gowns. The "grooms" kneeled down and put rings on the fingers of the "brides". After the "ceremony" the new couples hugged and some of them even kissed.

Two children play groom and bride in a mock wedding ceremony organized by a kindergarten in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, Jan 11, 2012. [Zhang Yifei/CFP]

The group wedding was organized by the kindergarten, which invited parents to witness the ceremony.

The "group wedding" has had support from parents, who believe the experience is good for the children's development.

A parent surnamed Liu, told the Zhengzhou Evening News that this type of education is a good trial for real life.

"In this kindergarten, our children learn more than kids from other kindergartens. It is good for them to experience marriage. It's a good education in development. I support it," Liu told the paper.

The director of the kindergarten, surnamed Li, said it is not the first time a group wedding has been held in the kindergarten, but it is the first time so many children participated.

Li told the paper that children started to be aware of affection from 3 to 6 years old. Some boys will say "I like you" to girls, while some girls will share candies with boys, and some children even talk about getting married.

Li said kindergarten is a good time for marriage education, saying it was a chance to teach children about the roles of men and women, such as men can be dads, and women can be moms.

Li told the paper that after experiencing "marriage", the children became more responsible, confident and open.

luowangshu@chinadaily.com.cn