As a procession of couples walk under a red and white flowered arch to the tune of Pachelbel’s Canon, a young girl runs up to a pair, handing them a rose.
It’s a scene with all the makings of a perfect wedding day, but in this case, it’s a wedding day decades removed.
On Sunday, at the Chinese Cultural Centre in Calgary, 50 couples jointly celebrated their 50th wedding anniversaries.
Ray Zhang is the chair of the Happy 50+ Association, a non-profit organization supporting Chinese immigrants over the age of 50 in Calgary. The group organized the event.
He said he was first inspired to hold the event after the organization went on a group trip to Banff, and ended up celebrating one of the couple’s 50th wedding anniversaries.
“So we had this idea, why don’t we do a big thing?”
WATCH | Calgary couples celebrate 50 years of marriage
May 19th, pronounced in Mandarin, is the same as “I want love, forever.” This powerful phrase prompted a Calgary Chinese seniors’ organization to organize a celebration honouring 50 couples who have reached five decades of marriage. CBC’s Terri Trembath was on hand to take in the festivities.
He said it’s a once in a lifetime moment for the couples, and that he hopes this day is in their memory forever.
“[I hope] also they want to just pass all this love to their next generation.”
Several performances and dancing were on the day’s agenda, as well as an address from Liying Zhao, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Calgary.
Nivat and Chanpen Chainarongpinij were one couple who took part in the festivities.
They are both Chinese but were born and raised in Thailand, and attended college in Seattle without knowing who each other were.
Then, they met on the first day of classes. Chanpen said that day was a great coincidence.
“Time [goes] by so fast, year after year,” she said.
Nivat said it felt nice to be recognized for such an important milestone.
“It’s wonderful, it’s magnificent. That is the feeling that, wow, you know, it’s a milestone [being] married for 50 years and to have the honour. It’s almost like we just [got] married.”
Their advice for young couples? Patience.
“You will just have to live with patience and you know, care and love each other,” Chanpen said.
Nivat added that Chinese traditions have given them important lessons to live by.
“We’ve been taught by our elders to compromise and, in some instances, sacrifice,” he said.
“If we are going to maintain a beautiful marriage, we have to learn to forgive and forget and to reconcile.”