infrequently the lucky day for the marriage of a particular couple under their horoscopes or a lucky day for marriages generally according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar happens to fall on a Sunday. Another reason was that some couples prefer a Sunday marriage because it means no interference with a normal working day for the parties and their guests. During the year 380 Sunday marriages were performed at the Registry.
148. Under Section 21(4)(b) of the Marriage Ordinance, where the Deputy Registrar is satisfied that he and the parties and witnesses all understand the Chinese language or the same dialect thereof, the marriage may be celebrated wholly in that language or dialect, and the great majority of Registry marriages are now celebrated in Chinese without an interpreter. The form of marriage certificate incorporates a Chinese translation of the printed English text, but is completed only in English, except for the characters of Chinese names.
149. During the year three additional places of public worship were licensed for the celebration of marriages under the Ordinance. A review of licensed places was carried out towards the end of 1969, when it was found that some places previously licensed had been demolished or were no longer being used for the celebration of marriages. In order to regularize the position, and at the same time introduce greater uniformity in the description of the religious denominations given in the list of licensed places, all existing licences were cancelled and an up-to-date list of licensed places was published in the Gazette on 24th December 1969. At the end of the year there were 124 places of public worship licensed for the celebration of marriages under the Ordinance compared with 128 at 31st March 1969. All marriages performed in licensed places of public worship are registered at the principal Registry in the City Hall.
150. 20,326 marriages were registered, 166 less than the record figure of 20,492 in 1968-69. The decline may be attributed in part to the fact that the year according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar was not as auspicious a year for marriages between Chinese as the preceding year, when there were two First Days of Spring (Lap Chun) and also an intercalary 7th moon. It is understood, however, that such considerations are tending to have less influence than in former years. 18,453 civil marriages-228 fewer than in 1968-69 were performed in the Registries as follows:
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