About the origin and history of Qixi Festival

Qixi Festival

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month every year is the traditional festival of the Han people in my country. Because the main participants in this day's activities are girls, and the content of the festival activities is mainly about begging for skillful skills, people call this day "Begging for Skillful Skills Festival" or "Girls' Day" or "Girls' Day". The Chinese Valentine's Day is the most romantic festival among our country's traditional festivals, and it was also the day that girls valued most in the past. On this night, women sewed needles and begged for skills, prayed for good fortune and longevity, worshiped the Seventh Sister, the ceremony was pious and solemn, flowers, fruits, and red flowers were displayed, and all kinds of furniture and utensils were exquisite, small and attractive. On May 20, 2006, the Chinese Valentine's Day was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list by the State Council. Now it is considered as "Chinese Valentine's Day".

Introduction

On a clear summer and autumn night, the stars are shining in the sky, and a white Milky Way is like a sky bridge running across the north and south. On the east and west banks of the river, there is a shining star on each side. Facing each other across the river, facing each other from a distance, are Altair and Vega.

It is a folk custom to sit and watch Altair and Vega on Chinese Valentine's Day. According to legend, every year on the night of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd meet in the sky at the Magpie Bridge.

Altair and Vega

Vega is a beautiful, intelligent and ingenious fairy. Women in the world will beg her for wisdom and skills on this night, and it is indispensable to pray to her. She prayed for a happy marriage, so the seventh day of July is also called the Qiao Qiao Festival.

People say that on the night of the Chinese Valentine's Day, if you look up, you can see the Milky Way meeting of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, or you can overhear the loving words of the two people when they meet in the sky under the fruit stand.

On this romantic night, the girls laid out seasonal fruits and vegetables in front of the bright moon in the sky, worshiped the sky, and begged the fairies in the sky to give them smart hearts and dexterous hands. My own knitting girl is skilled in skills, and she even begs for a good match for love and marriage. In the past, marriage was a lifelong event for women that determined whether they would be happy or not. Therefore, countless loving men and women in the world would spend this evening, in the quiet of the night, praying to the stars for a happy marriage.

Origin

Chinese Valentine's Day was originally called the Qiqiao Festival. Qixi Festival is a festival of begging for clever things. This festival originated in the Han Dynasty. Ge Hong's "Xijing Miscellaneous Notes" of the Eastern Jin Dynasty states that "Hancai women often pierce seven-hole needles on July 7th to draw pictures of cows and women on stone portraits of the Han Dynasty

The record of "Kaijinlou, everyone is accustomed to it" is the earliest record of begging for skill that we have seen in ancient documents. "Chinese Valentine's Day" originated from people's worship of nature. Judging from historical documents, at least three to four thousand years ago, with the emergence of people's understanding of astronomy and the emergence of textile technology, records about Altair and Vega began. People's worship of stars goes far beyond Altair and Vega. They believe that there are seven stars representing directions in the east, west, south, and north, collectively called the Twenty-Eight Constellations. Among them, the Big Dipper is the brightest and can be used to identify directions at night. The first star of the Big Dipper is called Kuixing, also known as the leader. Later, with the establishment of the imperial examination system, the number one winner was called "Da Kui Tianxia Shi". Scholars called the Chinese Valentine's Day the "Kui Star Festival", also known as the "Book Exhibition Festival", maintaining the earliest traces of the Chinese Valentine's Day originating from the worship of stars. "Chinese Valentine's Day" also comes from ancient people's worship of time. "Qi" has the same pronunciation as "period", and both the month and the day are "Qi", giving people a sense of time. The ancient Chinese combined the sun, moon and the five planets of water, fire, wood, metal and earth into the name "Qi Yao". The number seven in the folk is manifested in stages in time, and when calculating time, "seven to seven" is often used as the final outcome. In old Beijing, when doing ashram for the dead, it was often considered complete to complete "Qiqi". Calculating the current "week" with "Nichiyo" is still reserved in Japanese. "Qi" is homophonic with "吉", and "Qiqi" also means double auspiciousness. It is an auspicious day. In Taiwan, July is known as the month of "happy and auspicious". Because the shape of the word "xi" in cursive script is like "seventy-seven" written consecutively, the age of seventy-seven is also called "xishou".

Legend

The first one

"Weaver Girl"

It is said that the Cowherd's parents died young and he was often abused by his brother and sister-in-law. There is only an old cow for company. One day, Lao Niu gave him a plan and taught him how to marry the Weaver Girl as his wife. On that day, the beautiful fairies went to the Milky Way to bathe and play in the water. At this time, the Cowherd who was hiding among the reeds suddenly ran out and took away the Weaver Girl's clothes.

The frightened fairies hurriedly went ashore, put on their clothes and flew away, leaving only the Weaver Girl. At the Cowherd's plea, the Weaver Girl agreed to be his wife. After marriage, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl farmed and weaved, fell in love with each other, and lived a very happy life. The Weaver Girl also gave birth to a son and a daughter to the Cowherd. Later, when the old cow was about to die, he told the cowherd to keep its skin and put it on for help in times of emergency. After the old cow died, the couple reluctantly peeled off the hide and buried the cow on the hillside.

When the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother found out about the marriage between Weaver Girl and Cowherd, they were furious and ordered the gods to go down to capture Weaver Girl. The god took advantage of the fact that the Cowherd was not at home and captured the Weaver Girl. When the Cowherd returned home and saw the Weaver Girl missing, he hurriedly put on his cowhide and carried two children to chase after her. Seeing that she was about to catch up, the Queen Mother became anxious and pulled out the golden hairpin on her head to draw a stroke towards the Milky Way. The once clear Milky Way suddenly turned into turbid waves, and the Cowherd could no longer get through. From then on, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl could only look at each other across the river with tears in their eyes for eternity. The Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother could not resist their sincere feelings and allowed them to meet once a year on July 7th. According to legend, on the seventh day of July, the magpies in the world will I want to fly to the sky and build a magpie bridge for the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl to meet each other in the Milky Way. In addition, when the night of Chinese Valentine's Day is quiet, people can still hear the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl's loving words in the sky under the grape rack or other fruit racks.

The second story

A long time ago, there was a family living in the mountains. The old people all died, and only two brothers were left in the family. The eldest son married a daughter-in-law who had evil intentions and always wanted to monopolize the family property left by the old man.

One day, Erxiao led the dog to graze the cows. When he got to the field, he patted the cow's back and said: "Cow, cow, I want to sleep for a while, but you must not run around." "The old scalper seemed to understand the man's words. He lowered his head and muttered "moo, moo" a few times, flicking his tail and eating grass beside him. The second child was lying on the grass and fell asleep.

Missing noon, the sister-in-law came with a jar to deliver food to the brother-in-law. Seeing that the second child was sleeping, she kicked him hard. When Erxiao woke up and saw her sister-in-law, she hurriedly got up and stood on the ground like a dumbfounded chicken.

The sister-in-law put the rice can on the ground and said angrily: "You can feel free to sleep with the cow. I will settle the score with you only if the cow is lost!" After saying this, she twisted her butt. Gone.

The second child was hungry for a long time. He picked up the jar and was about to eat it when the big ox next to him bumped the jar and smashed it into pieces. When the big black dog saw the rice on the ground, he opened his mouth to eat. After a while, he licked all the food on the ground.

Erxiao looked at the broken cans and became frightened, and felt that it would not be a good idea to go home. He sighed, "Oh, why am I so miserable!"

As soon as the second youngest sighed, the big black dog fell to the ground with a plop, bleeding from its nose and mouth, and died soon after. . Only then did he realize that his sister-in-law had poisoned the rice.

My second thought: It seems I can’t live with this harmful person, otherwise I will die in her hands sooner or later. When the sun was about to set, he drove his cattle back home. As soon as I entered the yard, I turned around and saw my brother coming back from outside. My heart felt sour and my eyes couldn't stop crying. Seeing that his younger brother was so sad, the elder brother asked, "Why are you so sad?" He wonders what happened to the family. "I beat the can of rice sent by my sister-in-law, and the dog died after eating the rice on the ground." After hearing this, the elder brother said, I understood in my heart that I couldn't win against the women at home, and it was so difficult.

The second child cried and said, "Brother, let's live apart." When the elder brother saw that his younger brother wanted to separate the family, it became even more difficult. Firstly, the younger brother was still young, and secondly, he went out to do business; Neither can a helper. Let's just make do with it together, but I'm afraid that my brother will have some shortcomings.

Seeing that his brother was worried, Erxiao said, "Brother, I don't want anything in the house, just the cow." The two brothers talked about separating their families in the yard, and the daughter-in-law heard it and was very happy from the bottom of her heart. . She held the door frame with her hands and said to her husband: "From now on, we all live our own lives. I make the decision and let my second brother do it!"

The elder brother had tears in his eyes and could not say a word.

The next day, Er Xiao drove the bullock cart and left. Walking around, walking further and further. I thought to myself: If I keep walking like this, how long will it take to reach the end? Just live here! He stopped the ox cart, cut down many branches, and built a shed on the hillside. After the shed was erected, he and the old scalper settled here.

That cow was the lower realm of the Taurus star in the sky. It had been with the second child for more than a year and died that night.

After the old scalper died, he gave Erxiao three dreams in a row. The dream told Erxiao: "At 3:30 noon tomorrow, I will go back to heaven. After I leave, you can peel off my skin and wait until July. On the seventh day, put it on your body to ensure that you can go to heaven. The Queen Mother has seven daughters. They go to the Tianhe to bathe. Remember, the fairy in green clothes is your wife. When they are all in the water, if you grab your clothes and run back, she will definitely chase you. As long as you return home, she will not leave.”

The next day, Erxiao met the old scalper. It's dead, neither eating nor drinking, just crying when I touch it with my hands. Later, he skinned the cow, left the skin and buried the cow. Then he knelt on the cow's grave and cried loudly. On July 7th, Erxiao put on a cowhide, immediately lifted his feet off the ground, and floated to the bank of the Tianhe River. He quietly hid in the woods and waited. After a while, the Queen Mother's seven fairies came. They took off their clothes one by one and jumped into the water.

Erxiao spotted the green clothes, rushed over, grabbed it and ran away. When the three fairies saw someone hugging her clothes, they came out of the water and chased him. I chased him quickly and slowly, and I chased him to Erxiao's home. The third fairy asked the second fairy why he took her clothes. The second fairy wanted her to be his wife. The three fairies repeatedly said that the laws of heaven do not allow it, and the second fairy repeatedly said that the human world is better than heaven. When the third fairy saw that the second boy was good-looking, she was also attracted by it and agreed to him. At this time, the third fairy came to the world. She played flowers and weaved at home every day, so people called her the Weaver Girl. Erxiao went out to sell cloth every day to make money. The young couple lived a comfortable life.

After three or five years, the third fairy and the second fairy gave birth to a boy and a girl. One day, when the second child went to work in the fields, a heavenly drum sounded in the sky, and the Jade Emperor sent heavenly soldiers and generals to capture the Weaver Girl. When the second child came home, he saw two children crying. He didn't know where his daughter-in-law had gone, and she was so anxious. When I asked the children, the eldest child raised his hand to the sky and the second child realized that the Weaver Girl was gone. He hurriedly picked up the two children, put on the cowhide and went to catch the Weaver Girl.

I was in a hurry and chased the Weaver Girl quickly. When I saw that I was about to catch up with the Weaver Girl, I annoyed the Queen Mother: "Okay, second child, do you want to chase her to the Lingxiao Palace?" She pulled off the silver on her head. Guan, once he drew a line between Erxiao and Weaver Girl, a sky river was formed immediately. The second child couldn't cross the river, so he stamped his feet anxiously, and the two children in the basket called for mother. Zhinu and Erxiao both cried, and it was useless to cry. Erxiao wanted to leave a memory for Zhinu, so she took out the cow buckle cover and threw it at Zhinu, who caught it in her hand. The Weaver Girl thought for a while, but she had nothing to give, so she took out the weaving shuttle and threw it at Erxiao. The Weaver Girl's hands were weak and she threw the weaving shuttle crookedly.

Until now, there is the Button Star in the arms of Vega on one side of the Milky Way, and there is the Shuttle Star next to Altair on the other side of the Milky Way.

The third article

It is said that a long time ago, there was Niujiazhuang in the west of Nanyang City. There was a smart, loyal and hard-working child named Ling'er in the village. Because his parents died young, he had to live with his brother. His sister-in-law, Ma, was vicious and often abused Ling'er. One autumn, just after the harvest, Ma forced Ling'er to go to the mountains to graze cattle, and said to him: "I'll give you these nine cattle to graze, and you won't be able to come back until you have ten cows!" Ling'er listened. ; Having no choice but to drive the cattle away from Niujiazhuang.

The villagers came over after hearing the news and expressed deep sympathy for Ling'er. Some brought food, some brought clothes, Ling'er thanked them all, and then drove the cattle alone towards the mountains.

When he reached the mountain with deep grass and lush forests, he stopped to rest, sat under a tree and cried sadly. I thought to myself, what year and month will it take to have ten cows? At this moment, an old man with frost-white beard and hair suddenly appeared in front of him. The old man patted his shoulder and asked kindly: "Son, why do you come to this remote place to herd cattle by yourself? Why are you like this? Sad?" Ling'er told her in detail about her sister-in-law's abuse and forcing him to herd cattle. The old man smiled and said: "So that's what happened! Don't be sad. There is an old cow that is sick in Funiu Mountain. You feed it well. When the cow is cured, you can drive the cow home." After that the old man disappeared. Ling'er seemed to be dreaming. Then he followed the old man's instructions and walked to Funiu Mountain.

Ling'er walked and walked, climbing over mountains and wading through streams, and finally found the sick cow, which was lying on a large flat stone. Ling'er immediately lay down, kowtowed three times, and called "Uncle Niu." Lao Niu opened his tired eyes and closed them again after a while. Ling'er looked at the old cow's listless look and thought that he might be hungry, so he hurriedly gathered bundles of grass for the old cow.

After feeding for three days and three nights, the old cow was finally full. Suddenly he raised his head and spoke to him: "Good boy, I was originally the Great Gray Ox Immortal in heaven. I broke the rules of heaven by secretly removing grain seeds from the human world. I was kicked down from heaven by the Jade Emperor and my leg was broken." , I can't move. If you can wash me with flower dew water for a month, I will be fine." After hearing this, Xiao Ling'er stayed in Funiu Mountain, eating some wild fruits when he was hungry, and drinking some spring water when he was thirsty. Snuggle up next to the cow at night. Every morning he went to pick flowers and used the dew on the flowers to wash the wounds of the old cow. For a whole month, the old cow's injury really healed, and it followed Ling'er home.

When Ling'er returned home, his sister-in-law saw that he had really driven ten cows back. She insisted that one of them had been stolen from someone else and beat him up. She gave up after the villagers persuaded her. . From then on, Ling'er herded the cows during the day and slept next to the cows at night. People on the farm called him the "Cowherd". The old cow who was saved by the Cowherd was very close to the Cowherd. Once, the sister-in-law put poison into the vegetables, and the old cow told the cowherd not to eat it. The sister-in-law became angry and wanted to separate from the Cowherd. The Cowherd didn't want a house or a field. He only wanted the old cow, two broken cars and a broken suitcase, so he left the house and built a house under a mulberry tree. Lived in a thatched hut. The old cow spit out a tea bean from his mouth, and the Cowherd planted the tea bean in front of the thatched shed. The next day it sprouted from the ground, and the leaves grew on the third day. Climbing all over the shelves. The old cow said: "My child, when you hide under the tea bean rack at night, you can see the fairies in the sky, and the fairies can also see you. If anyone peeks at you for seven consecutive nights, she is looking forward to becoming your wife. At that time, I I will use a car to pull you up to heaven, bring her down to earth, and marry you." After listening to the old cow's instructions, the Cowherd got under the tea beans stand and looked up to the sky. , I saw a group of fairies bathing in the jade pond. Before leaving, one fairy peeked down at him. The next night, the fairy came to the jade pond alone and bravely looked at the Cowherd. On the third night, I looked at the Cowherd and smiled slightly. On the fourth night, I nodded to the Cowherd. On the fifth night, I brought out a basket of silkworms. On the sixth night, I stole a loom. On the seventh night, I looked at the Cowherd and smiled. Holding the weaving shuttle, he waved to the Cowherd. The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, one in the sky and the other under the ground, looked back and forth. The Cowherd was looking forward to the Weaver Girl coming down to earth, and the Weaver Girl was looking forward to the Cowherd's reunion soon. On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, magpies flew from the sky, landed on the head of the old cow, and chirped: "The Weaver Girl sent me to tell you to gather together quickly. Come gather together quickly, gather together quickly." The old cow smiled and nodded. , the Cowherd got on the cart and got on. The old cow soared in the air and came to the Yuchi. The Cowherd got off the car and carried the loom to the car with the Weaver Girl. The Weaver Girl got on the car with the silkworm basket, and the Cowherd also jumped on the car and sat with the Weaver Girl. Lao Niu was soaring in the clouds and mist, and he would be home soon.

When the villagers learned that Cowherd had become a family, they all came to congratulate him. The Weaver Girl distributed the silkworms she brought from the sky to the sisters and taught them how to raise silkworms, hold silk, and weave silk and satin.

As a result, everyone in the village knew that the Cowherd married a good wife, could raise silkworms, spin silk, and weave bright silk and satin. They all said that the Weaver Girl’s loom came from The silk and satin brought from the sky are made into ready-made clothes, which are warm in winter and cool in summer. The news spread, attracting silk merchants from all over the country, all rushing to buy Nanyang silk. This incident caused a sensation on both sides of the Baihe River. Thousands of households in the Funiu Mountains sent their girls to learn weaving. Weaver Girl was kind-hearted and willing to teach others. Within two years, every household had learned to raise silkworms, draw silk and weave silk and satin.

On July 7th of the third year, the Weaver Girl gave birth to a boy and a girl. The boy was named Brother Jin and the girl was named Yumei. The Cowherd plowed the fields and the Weaver Girl weaved, and they lived in harmony.

A few years later, the Cowherd was plowing the field, and suddenly there was a burst of thunder in the clear sky. The old Cow looked at the Cowherd and shed tears, and said to the Cowherd: "My child, I pulled the Weaver Girl down from the sky to offend me. If you break the rules of heaven, it seems that you will not survive. After I die, the Queen Mother will definitely not let you go. By then, you can become an immortal by eating my flesh, and you can fly to heaven by making shoes from my skin. "After saying that, the old cow fell down. After crying for a while, the cowherd followed the old cow's instructions.

On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the Cowherd was hoeing the fields. Brother Jin and Sister Jin ran over with mournful faces and told the Cowherd that an old woman had come and pulled her mother away from the loom. . The Cowherd hurried home, wearing shoes made of old cowhide, holding Brother Jin in one hand and Yu Mei in the other, and chased after them in the air.

Seeing that she was about to catch up, the Queen Mother took off the golden photo on her head and drew a picture at her feet. A turbulent river appeared. The Cowherd took Jin Ge and Yu Mei and stood by the river and cried. The cry shocked the Jade Emperor. Seeing that they were a pair of children, they were very pitiful, so they decided to let their family meet once every July 7th.

People suddenly found that the Cowherd and his family were missing, and felt strange. At night, they went to the tea rack and looked up at the sky, and saw a turbulent river. The Weaver Girl on the other side of the river was crying, and the Cowherd on the other side of the river was crying. Pulling Brother Jin and Sister Yu along, they were also crying. People discovered that there was an extra silver band in the sky where the stars twinkled, and they called it the Milky Way. There is an extra star on one side of the Milky Way, and this star is called Vega. There are three more stars on one side, called Altair. People miss the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. They always get under the tea beans stand and look up at the sky every night. On the night of July 7th, I suddenly saw a sky full of magpies rushing towards the Tianhe River, biting each other's tails and forming a magpie bridge. The Cowherd took Brother Jin with one hand and Yumei with the other hand onto the bridge. The Weaver Girl also came over from the other side of the bridge and walked to the middle of the Magpie Bridge where the family met.

Customs

Threading a needle to beg for skills

This is the earliest way of begging for skills, which started in the Han Dynasty and spread to later generations. "Miscellaneous Notes of Xijing" says: "The colorful girls of the Han Dynasty often pierced the seven-hole needle in the Kaijin Tower on July 7th, and people practiced it." Liang Zongmou of the Southern Dynasties "Jingchu Years' Notes" said: "July 7th is the evening The women of the Qi Dynasty used gold and silver stones as needles to thread the needles through seven holes. "Wang Renyu of the Five Dynasties" "Kaiyuan Tianbao Legacy" said: "On Qixi Festival, the palace is built with brocade, a hundred feet high, which can accommodate dozens of people. Melons and fruits are cooked with wine, and seats are set up to worship the cow girl. Two stars, each with a nine-hole needle and five colored threads, are pierced towards the moon. The one who passes by will be a lucky prince, and the music of the Qing Dynasty will be played, and the banquet will be celebrated in all the local people's homes. " said: "Jiuyin Terrace is a place for begging for luck on Chinese Valentine's Day. On the evening of the evening, the palace maids go up on the stage to thread the nine-tailed needle with colorful silk. Those who finish it first are said to have gained luck, and those who finish it late are said to have lost luck. Each of them contributes money to give to the one who gets luck."

Happy spiders should be clever

This is also an earlier way of begging for cleverness. Its custom is slightly later than threading a needle and begging for cleverness, and it roughly started in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Liang Zongmao of the Southern Dynasty said in "The Chronicles of Jingchu Years": "It was evening, and melons and fruits were placed in the courtyard to beg for luck. If there were happy nets on the melons, they would be lucky." Wang Renyu of the Five Dynasties said in "The Legacy of Kaiyuan Tianbao": "July 7 Each one catches spiders in small boxes until they open at dawn; if the spider webs are dense, they will be clever. Those who are secret will be clever, and those who are sparse will be clever. This is also the case among the people. On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, "put a small spider inside the egg and look at it the next day. If the web is round, it is called a coincidence." Song Zhoumi's "Qian Chun Sui Sui Ji" said: "Put the small spider inside and wait for the web to be built. "How long does it take to get a coincidence by how dense it is?" Ming Tian Rucheng said in "The Joy of Xi Chao" that on Chinese Valentine's Day, "Put a spider in a small box, and watch the density of its web the next morning to see how much it is." This shows that the method of testing cleverness in the past dynasties. Differently, the Southern and Northern Dynasties looked at the presence or absence of the net, the Tang Dynasty looked at the denseness of the net, and the Song Dynasty looked at the roundness of the net. Later generations mostly followed the customs of the Tang Dynasty.

Throwing a needle to test skills

This is a variant of the Chinese Valentine's Day custom of needlework and begging for skills. It originated from needlework but is different from needlework. It was a popular Chinese Valentine's Day in the Ming and Qing dynasties. vulgar. Liu Tong and Yu Yizheng of the Ming Dynasty wrote in their "Scenery of the Imperial Capital": "On the afternoon of July 7th, a skillful needle was thrown. A woman was exposed to a lot of water in the middle of the day, and after a while, the water film formed on her face. When the embroidery needle was thrown into it, it floated, and she looked at the bottom of the water. "Needle shadow. If there are shadows of clouds, flowers, heads, birds, and beasts, or shadows of shoes and scissors, it is called begging for skill. The shadow is as thick as a hammer, as thin as silk, and as straight as a shaft of wax." This is a sign of clumsiness. "Zhili Zhishu" also says that in Liangxiang County (today's southwest of Beijing), "On July 7, women beg for skills, throw needles into the water, use the shadow of the sun to check their workmanship, and at night they are still begging for skills from the Weaver Girl." Please refer to Yu Minzhong's " "Rixia Jiuwen Kao" quoted "Wanshu Miscellaneous Notes" as saying: "On July 7th, the women of Yandu poured bowls of water into the sun, each dropped a small needle to float on the water surface, and slowly looked at the shadow of the sun on the bottom of the water. Some were scattered like flowers, or moved like clouds, It is as thin as a thread and as thick as a cone, because it is used for divination of women."

Seed to give birth to a child

According to the old custom, a few days before the Chinese Valentine's Day, a small wooden board was first applied. Layer the soil, sow corn seeds, let them grow green tender seedlings, and then put some small huts, flowers and trees on it to make the appearance of a small village with farm houses, called a "shell board", or put mung beans, adzuki beans, wheat Soak it in a porcelain bowl, wait for it to grow buds, and then tie them into a bunch with red and blue silk ropes, which is called "seed-growing", also called "five-life pot" or "flower-flower pot". It is also called "Pao Qiao" in various parts of the south, and the bean sprouts that grow are called Qiao Ya. They even replace needles with Qiao sprouts and throw them on the water to beg for Qiao.

Various figures are also made of wax, such as the characters in the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, or the shapes of vultures, mandarin ducks, and other animals, and placed on the water to float, which is called "floating on the water." There are also wax baby dolls that women buy and float at home, thinking they are auspicious for having a child, and they are called "huasheng".

Enshrine "Mohele"

Mohele is a children's plaything during the Chinese Valentine's Day in the old days. It is a small clay doll. Its image is mostly a half-armed lotus leaf dress, holding a hand. Lotus leaves. Every year on July 7th, in Kaifeng's "Panlou Street, the tiles outside Dongsong Gate, the tiles outside Zhouxiliang Gate, the North Gate, South Zhuquemen Street and Maxing Street all sell grinding and drinking music. Small plastic clay ears." In fact, the grinding music made later in the Song Dynasty is no longer a small clay doll. On the contrary, it has become more and more refined. The size and posture of Mohele vary. The largest one is as high as three feet, which is as high as a real child. The materials used include carved ivory or dragon-flavored Buddha's hand incense. The decorations of Mohele are even more exquisite, with painted wood carvings as railings or red sand and green cages as covers. , the toys in their hands are often decorated with gold, jade and precious stones, and a pair of toys often cost thousands of dollars.

Worship the Weaver Girl

"Worship the Weaver Girl" is purely a matter for girls and young women. Most of them make appointments with their friends or neighbors in advance for five or six people, or as many as ten people, to hold the event jointly. The ceremony is to set up a table under the moonlight, with tea, wine, fruits, five seeds (longans, red dates, hazelnuts, peanuts, melon seeds) and other sacrifices on the table; there are also a few flowers, tied with red paper, and placed in bottles. , a small incense burner is placed in front of the flowers. Then, make an appointment for the young women and girls who are going to worship Weaver Girl to fast for a day, take a bath, and come to the host's house on time. After burning incense in front of the table and worshiping, everyone sits around the table, eating peanuts, melon seeds, and Looking towards the constellation of the Vega, silently reflect on your thoughts. For example, if girls want to be beautiful or marry a good man, and young women want to have a baby early, they can pray silently to Vega. Play until midnight and then break up.

Worship Kuixing

According to popular legend, July 7th is Kuixing’s birthday. Kuixing is an important figure in literary affairs. Scholars who want to gain fame especially respect Kuixing, so they must worship Kuixing on the Chinese Valentine's Day and pray for him to bless them with good luck in examinations. Kuixingye is Kuiduxing. Kuixing in the Twenty-Eight Constellations is the first star of the Big Dipper, and it is also the Kuixing or the leader. In ancient times, when scholars won the top prize, they were called "Dakui Tianxiashi" or "won the first prize in one fell swoop" because Kuixing was in charge of examination luck.

According to folklore, Lord Kuixing was ugly, with spots on his face and a lameness. Someone wrote a limerick to make fun of him: If you don't show it, what's the use of decorating it with lead? Even if it's lead, don't cover it up. Marrying Magu makes two beauties, and the results of the hive are perfect. There are claws below the eyebrows, and geese are treading on the sand beside the mouth and nose. Don't be tempted to take a nap in front of the eaves, while the wind blows plum blossoms from your forehead. Xiangjun's jade toe is the most bizarre, one step up and one step down. The body feels like dancing when the movements are moving, and the movements are as fluttering as the mouth. Just because the world is full of dangers, I am so tired that all my beauty is gone. Moxiao's waist branches are often half-folded, and sometimes they sway in various ways.

However, this Mr. Kuixing was very ambitious and worked hard, and he even passed high school. During the emperor's palace examination, he was asked why his face was covered with spots, and he replied: "The pockmarked face is full of stars." When asked why his feet were lame, he replied: "One-legged jump from the Dragon Gate." The emperor was very satisfied and admitted him.

Another completely different legend says that although Lord Kuixing was full of knowledge during his lifetime, he failed every exam, so he was so angry that he threw himself into the river and committed suicide. Unexpectedly, he was rescued by a turtle and ascended to heaven to become the Kuixing. Because Kuixing can influence the scholar's luck in examinations, every July 7th, his birthday, scholars solemnly worship him.

Drying books and drying clothes

According to reports, Sima Yi was quite jealous of Cao Cao because of his high position and power. In view of the political darkness at that time, in order to protect himself, he pretended to be Madness is hiding at home. Emperor Wu of Wei was still not at ease, so he sent a close confidant, Ling Shi, to secretly investigate the truth. It was July 7th, and Sima Yi, who was pretending to be crazy, was also posting books at home. He ordered Shi to go back and report to Emperor Wu of Wei. Emperor Wu of Wei immediately ordered Sima Yi to return to the court to serve, otherwise he would be imprisoned. Sima Yi just obeyed the order and returned to the court. There is another kind of person who, in troubled times, expresses his depression by being dissolute. They despise etiquette and oppose current customs. Volume 25 of Liu Yiqing's "Shishuo Xinyu" says that on July 7, everyone was posting books, but only Hao Long ran to lie down in the sun. When people asked him why, he replied: "I am posting books." On the one hand, this is to despise the custom of posting books, and on the other hand, it is to show off one's inner talents. Showing your belly means showing your books. The custom of drying clothes in the Han Dynasty created opportunities for wealthy families to show off their wealth during the Wei and Jin Dynasties.

Ruan Xian, one of the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove", looked down upon this style of work. On July 7, when his neighbor was drying his clothes, he saw that the shelves were full of Lingluo silk and satin, which was dazzling. Ruan Xian calmly picked up a shabby piece of clothing with a bamboo pole. When someone asked him what he was doing, he said: "I can't escape from the vulgarity, let's talk about it!" Judging from these few stories, we know that the Chinese Valentine's Day was the time to post books. , How old is the custom of drying clothes.

Celebrating the Cow’s Birthday

Children will pick wild flowers and hang them on the horns of the Cow on Chinese Valentine’s Day, which is also called “Celebrating the Cow’s Birthday”. Because it is said that after the Queen Mother of the West separated the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl with the Tianhe River, in order to allow the Cowherd to cross the Tianhe River to see the Weaver Girl, the old cow asked the Cowherd to peel off its skin and drive its cowhide to see the Weaver Girl. In order to commemorate the sacrifice spirit of the old cow, people have the custom of "celebrating the cow's birthday"

Eating Qiaoguo

Qiaoguo is the most famous festival food on Chinese Valentine's Day. Qiaoguo, also known as "Qiaoguo", comes in many styles. The main ingredient of Qiaoguo

is oily molasses. In "Tokyo Menghua Lu", they are "laughing tired children" and "fruit eating patterns", and the patterns include Na Xiang, Fang Sheng, etc. During the Song Dynasty, Qixi Qiaoguo was already sold on the streets.

If you buy a pound of Qiaoguo, there will also be a pair of them wearing battle armor, like door god dolls, known as the "Fruit Eater Generals". The method of making Qiaoguo is: first put the sugar in a pot and melt it into syrup, then add flour and sesame seeds, mix well and spread it out on the table to thin, let it cool and then cut it into long cubes with a knife, and fold it into a spindle shape. Dough-fry the dough until golden brown. Women with skillful hands can also shape various patterns related to the legend of the Chinese Valentine's Day. In addition, the fruits used in begging can also be varied. Or carve the melons and fruits into exotic flowers and birds, or emboss patterns on the surface of the melon skin. Called "huagua"

Qiaoguo and flower melon are the most common Chinese Valentine's Day foods. In history, each dynasty had different food customs. For example, it was popular in the Wei Dynasty to serve soup cakes on July 7th. The festival foods of the Tang Dynasty included cutting cakes on July 7th, and designated July 7th as the book-drying festival. Three provinces and six ministries or less would each be given a certain amount of gold to prepare for the banquet, which was called the "book-drying party". Chinese Valentine's Day is also a suitable day for dispensing medicine. It is said that there is a secret recipe using pine and cypress as medicinal materials. This magical pill is made from the dew on July 7th. Taking one pill can extend your life by ten years, and taking two pills can extend your life by twenty years. In addition, there are also pine nuts, cypress seeds, lotus leaves, etc., all of which are called elixirs of immortality. The more practical prescriptions include sun-drying sophora japonica juice to treat hemorrhoids, decoction of bitter melon to treat eyes, plucking melon stems to treat diarrhea, and so on. Only those who have tried it will know how effective it is. Nowadays, in Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou and other places in Zhejiang, on the Chinese Valentine's Day, people will also use flour to make various small items, fry them in oil pans and call them "Qiaoguo". In the evening, Qiaoguo, lotus root, white lotus root, red water chestnut, etc. are placed in the clean courtyard, and relatives and friends at home sit together.

Odd customs

Guangdong - Qiniang Hui

Guangzhou - Qijie's Birthday

Jiaxing - Qixi Xiangqiao Hui< /p>

Hunan, Zhejiang - Women wash their hair and collect dew

Jiaodong - Worship the Seventh Sister God

Southwest China - Dye their nails

Guangzhou - Welcome Immortals

Shaanxi - Ligation of Qiaogu

Guangxi - Water Storage during Chinese Valentine's Day

Shaoxing - Listening to Whispers Under the Pumpkin Pavilion

Southern Fujian and Taiwan Chinese Valentine's Day

PS: Because there are too many words, I deleted a lot of them. They may not be complete. You can go to the encyclopedia Baidu to check it. It is very complete~~~~