Mei Lin: Daniel, serious question. Are you actually planning to wear that navy-blue shirt to my cousin’s wedding?
Daniel: Yes? Why? Is there a dress code I missed, or have I accidentally become the fashion police’s next victim?
Mei Lin: Don’t joke! White, black, and blue are funeral colours. You’re not supposed to wear them to weddings, and you’re definitely not supposed to give gifts in those colours. It’s bad luck.
Daniel: Ah, the famous three-colour wedding ban. I was wondering when that would come up. So, what happens if I wear blue? Does the marriage automatically get cancelled?
Mei Lin: Very funny. I’m serious, Daniel. These traditions exist for a reason. You shouldn’t tempt fate, especially on someone’s wedding day.
Daniel: Okay, but let’s start with the reason. Why are those colours considered unlucky?
Mei Lin: White and black are associated with mourning in many Chinese funeral traditions. Blue can also be associated with sadness or mourning. A wedding is supposed to be joyful, so wearing those colours sends the wrong message.
Daniel: I understand the symbolism. But doesn’t that explain the cultural association rather than prove that the colours cause bad luck?
Mei Lin: You’re doing that thing again.
Daniel: What thing?
Mei Lin: Turning a perfectly simple conversation into a university lecture.
Daniel: Sorry, Professor Superstition. I’ll try to keep my thesis under five minutes.
Mei Lin: You’d better.
Daniel: Look, I agree that colours can carry cultural meanings. If someone associates white with mourning, I can understand why they’d feel uncomfortable seeing it at a wedding. But that doesn’t establish that wearing white will cause something bad to happen.
Mei Lin: You say that now. But imagine wearing black to a wedding and then something goes wrong. Wouldn’t you regret it?
Daniel: I’d regret it if I spilled curry on the bride’s dress. But I wouldn’t automatically blame my shirt.
Mei Lin: What if the couple argues that evening?
Daniel: Couples argue even when everyone wears pink. Have you checked the colour of the clothes worn by every couple who has ever divorced?
Mei Lin: Obviously not.
Daniel: Exactly. If we want to establish whether a colour affects marriage outcomes, we’d need reliable evidence. We’d have to compare couples who had guests wearing those colours with couples who didn’t, while accounting for all the other factors that influence relationships.
Mei Lin: And who would fund a study like that? The Ministry of Wedding Colours?
Daniel: I’d apply for the grant. My research proposal would be called The Impact of Aunties’ Wardrobe Decisions on Marital Stability.
Mei Lin: I’d be the principal investigator. My aunties alone could provide enough data for three PhDs.
Daniel: See? We’re already making scientific progress.
Mei Lin: Don’t get too excited. I still wouldn’t wear blue.
Daniel: That’s your choice. I’m not asking you to abandon your traditions. I’m just saying there’s a difference between respecting a tradition and believing it has supernatural power.
Mei Lin: But traditions are passed down for generations. Surely that means something.
Daniel: It does mean something. It tells us that people have valued those customs and passed them on. Traditions can preserve family identity, cultural memory and a sense of belonging. But their age doesn’t automatically establish that every belief behind them is factually true.
Mei Lin: So you’re saying our grandparents were wrong about everything?
Daniel: Not at all. Our grandparents knew plenty of things worth learning. They also lived in a different world, with different explanations for things they couldn’t easily understand. We can respect their experience without assuming every inherited belief is scientifically established.
Mei Lin: Hmm. I suppose that’s fair. But you still haven’t explained why I shouldn’t play it safe.
Daniel: You can play it safe socially. If the couple specifically asks guests not to wear certain colours, respect their wishes. That’s about being considerate, not preventing supernatural misfortune.
Mei Lin: That’s actually a reasonable distinction.
Daniel: Thank you. I’ll add that to my academic publications.
Mei Lin: Don’t push your luck.
Mei Lin: Let me tell you something, though. Last year, my friend gave a couple a black gift box containing a wedding present. The bride’s mother looked absolutely horrified.
Daniel: That’s a useful example of how a colour can affect someone’s feelings. The mother may have associated the box with mourning, so it upset her. That reaction was real, even if the belief that the box could cause bad luck isn’t supported by evidence.
Mei Lin: So you’d still avoid giving a black box?
Daniel: If I knew it would upset the recipient, absolutely. I’d choose another colour. But I’d be doing it out of courtesy, not because I thought the box could damage their marriage.
Mei Lin: I can understand that. Actually, my cousin specifically asked everyone to wear bright colours. Maybe I should just follow that request.
Daniel: That sounds sensible. And you can wear something colourful because you enjoy it, not because you’re afraid the universe is keeping a spreadsheet of your wardrobe choices.
Mei Lin: You really have no respect for the universe.
Daniel: I respect it enormously. That’s why I don’t assume it rearranges people’s lives based on the colour of their handbags.
Mei Lin: Fine. But what about white wedding dresses? In some cultures, white is the traditional bridal colour. Doesn’t that contradict the idea that white is universally unlucky?
Daniel: It certainly shows that colour meanings aren’t universal. White is associated with mourning in some cultural contexts, while in others it’s associated with weddings, purity or celebration. The meaning depends on the culture, the occasion and the people involved.
Mei Lin: So the same colour can mean happiness to one person and sadness to another?
Daniel: Exactly. Colours don’t come with one fixed meaning built into nature. People interpret them through cultural and personal experience.
Mei Lin: I suppose that’s why some people wear red at weddings here. Red is associated with good fortune in many Chinese wedding traditions.
Daniel: Right. And that association can be meaningful and enjoyable without requiring us to believe that red physically causes good fortune.
Mei Lin: You’re making it sound as though all these customs are just decoration.
Daniel: Not decoration. Meaning. That’s an important difference. A wedding ceremony can be deeply meaningful because people agree that its symbols matter. The symbols don’t need supernatural powers to have emotional or cultural value.
Mei Lin: That’s a surprisingly nice way of putting it.
Daniel: Please don’t tell anyone. I have a reputation to maintain.
Mei Lin: Too late. I’m telling the entire wedding party.
Mei Lin: All right, Mr Scientist. One last question. Suppose I wear a bright pink dress, give the couple a red envelope, and everything goes wonderfully. Doesn’t that prove the tradition works?
Daniel: Not by itself. A happy outcome after following a custom doesn’t establish that the custom caused the happiness. We’d need to compare outcomes systematically, rather than selecting the stories that fit what we already believe.
Mei Lin: And if someone wears black and has a terrible marriage?
Daniel: Same problem. One unhappy marriage doesn’t prove the colour caused it. We naturally notice striking coincidences, especially when they match something we already fear or expect.
Mei Lin: So you’re saying my brain might be looking for patterns that aren’t actually there?
Daniel: Yes. Human brains are very good at detecting patterns. That’s useful when the patterns are real, but it can also lead us to connect unrelated events.
Mei Lin: Like wearing blue and then getting caught in a thunderstorm?
Daniel: Precisely. The shirt didn’t summon the storm. Singapore’s weather doesn’t need your wardrobe’s assistance.
Mei Lin: Tell that to my mother. She once blamed a broken mirror for an entire week of bad luck.
Daniel: Did she ever consider that the person who broke the mirror might simply have been careless?
Mei Lin: Daniel, if you ever meet my mother, please don’t conduct an investigation into her beliefs.
Daniel: Understood. I’ll leave the mirror case unsolved.
Mei Lin: Good. Because I still believe some traditions deserve to be followed, even if I can’t prove them scientifically.
Daniel: And that’s a perfectly reasonable personal choice, provided we distinguish between a custom we value and a factual claim that hasn’t been demonstrated.
Mei Lin: So we can respect the tradition without being frightened by it?
Daniel: Exactly. You can choose bright colours because they make you happy, because your family loves them, or because the couple requested them. You don’t have to believe that wearing blue will somehow bring disaster.
Mei Lin: Fine. I’ll wear pink next weekend.
Daniel: And I’ll wear navy blue, unless the couple asks me not to.
Mei Lin: You’re impossible.
Daniel: Yet you keep inviting me to weddings.
Mei Lin: Because someone has to eat the extra chicken rice when the buffet opens.
Daniel: Finally, a wedding tradition I can support without requiring a controlled trial.
Mei Lin: Don’t get comfortable. If the food is terrible, I’m blaming your shirt.
Daniel: Deal. But if it’s delicious, we’re publishing the results.
Mei Lin: The Effect of Chicken Rice on Wedding Happiness?
Daniel: Now that’s a research project with real potential.
Mei Lin: Just promise me one thing.
Daniel: What?
Mei Lin: Don’t wear a white shirt, black trousers and blue shoes together.
Daniel: Why?
Mei Lin: Because I have to look at you in the wedding photographs.
Daniel: Ah. Finally, a superstition backed by solid evidence: your questionable fashion sense.
Mei Lin: Get lost, Daniel.
Daniel: See you at the wedding, Mei Lin. I’ll bring my navy shirt and an open mind.
Mei Lin: And I’ll bring my pink dress and a backup plan.
Daniel: Perfect. Between your backup plan and my scientific reasoning, that marriage doesn’t stand a chance of being underdressed.
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