Early in the morning, in accordance with traditional Thai belief that married life should begin with merit-making, the bride and groom feed village monks and present them with small gifts. In return, the monks bless the couple and the house or room where they will live. The village marriage ceremony bestows no official validity on their union but is merely a public proclama tion that the two people will live together as man and wife. The young couple's wrists are ceremoniously bound together in the presence of village elders and they are led to the marriage chamber as guests feast, drink, sing, and dance. Later, their marriage is officially registered at the district office and becomes a fact of law.
Women normally do the household chores, but they work in the fields during planting and harvesting.
Men perform heavy tasks and fieldwork, fetch water, and occasionally clean their own clothes. Thai village men are often very good cooks and sometimes help prepare the food for festivals. After marriage, every couple eagerly awaits the birth of its first child, which usually conies during the first year. Children have a high position in rural and cultural values, since there is strength in numbers, a vital sense of continuity is ensured, and many hands make farming activities easier. Often there exists an unspoken preference for boys since they alone may be ordained as priests to gain merit for themselves and their parents, but no love is witheld if the child proves to be a girl.