Faded Paper Figures

Television commercials tell me that it's Father's Day this weekend, which is appropriate since I'm currently digging through some files trying to unearth my dad's Social Security number, driver's license, and death certificate. Of course I find none of the above and come instead upon my parents' marriage certificate. The English translation locks down my parents' birthdates -- which always shifted with the lunar calendar, until they finally just stuck to a Gregorian date years ago -- and reveals that they were married at five in the afternoon. The certificate also has some information about how old my parents were, what provinces they were from, and who officiated the wedding, as well as noting the witnesses.

"These two parties are now united forever in harmony on this auspicious day in taking an oath of mutual fidelity throughout their lives. This certificate is hereby recorded."

Another line says that their matchmakers were Ning Chun-Hsing and Cheng Hung. This made me wonder for a moment if they had been introduced, or if maybe the friends who set them up got some sort of special mention. It's a cultural thing I'm sure, having a space for "matchmakers," and it made me wonder who these two people were. When I asked my mom, she said that when there were no official matchmakers, like in their case, the default was just to add two family friends -- usually as prominent as possible -- and place them on the certificate. She couldn't remember who Ning Chun-Hsing and Cheng Hung were at all. Or maybe she did and didn't want to say.

Either way, I think it would be cool to immortalize the people responsible for meeting the love of your life. That way you can blame them if things go horrifically wrong. Or send them nice presents when things work out. I wonder if modern marriage certificates in Taiwan still have this blank space. Or has tradition phased it out in order to avoid having to put the equivalent of Match and OkCupid on that line.

Also, this marriage certificate I dug up isn't the real thing. It was a copy made for immigration purposes. That makes sense because the paper is way too new and white to be from over thirty years ago. A nice diversion nonetheless. Back to hunting for those other documents. Life tip: When someone passes away, don't throw anything out because hey, the government might need it to prove their identity. Which, I guess, makes sense. Sort of.