158. The City Hall Registry opens on Sunday mornings throughout the year for the performance of Registry marriages. The main reason for the Sunday opening, which was instituted in 1966, was that not 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 532 Sunday marriages were performed at the Registry.
159. 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.
160. During the year six additional places of public worship were licensed for the celebration of marriages under the Ordinance, bringing the total number of licensed places up to 135. All marriages performed in licensed places of public worship are registered at the principal Registry in the City Hall.
161. The number of marriages registered during the year amounted to 26,443, which was 3,044 less than the record figure of 29,487 in 1971-72. It is likely that the decrease was due to the fact that following upon the enactment of the Marriage Reform Ordinance publicity was given to the provision that marriages could be celebrated only in accordance with the Marriage Ordinance, and this probably resulted in an increased number of marriages under the Ordinance between parties who might otherwise have married according to Chinese law and custom during 1971-72. The decrease might also be attributed to the fact that the year under review happened to be a 'blind year' in the Chinese Lunar Calendar with no First Day of Spring (Lap Chun) in it and therefore unpopular for marriages between Chinese, whereas the preceding year happened to be an auspicious year in that it had two First Days of Spring and also an intercalary Fifth Moon. 24,106 civil marriages 2,893 less than in 1971-72-were performed in the registries as follows:
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