In order to express people's hope that the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl can live a happy family life every day, in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, every family will kill a chicken on July 7, which means that the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl will meet on this night, and if there is no rooster to announce the dawn, they will never part. In the west of Guangxi, it is said that on the morning of July 7th, a fairy will come down to the earth to take a bath, and drinking its bath water can ward off evil spirits, cure diseases and prolong life. This kind of water is called "Double Seven Water". When chickens crow on this day, people scramble to get water from the river and then take it back and put it in a new urn for future use. The begging festival in Guangzhou is unique. Before the festival comes, the girls prepare colorful paper, grass, rope, etc. in advance, and weave all kinds of ingenious gadgets.
Also put the seeds and mung beans in a small box and soak them in water to make them germinate. When the bud grows to more than two inches long, it is used to worship the gods, which is called "worship the crane" and "worship the gods". From the sixth night to the seventh night, the girls put on new clothes and jewelry for two nights in a row. After all the arrangements are made, they burn incense and light candles and bow down to the stars, which is called "welcoming the immortals". From the third night to the fifth watch, they will worship seven times in a row. After worshipping the immortals, the girls passed through the pinholes with colored threads in their hands. For example, those who can wear seven pinholes in one breath are called skillful hands, and those who can't wear seven pinholes are called skillful hands.
After Tanabata, the girls exchanged small crafts and toys to show their friendship. On Valentine's Day in Fujian and China, Weaver Girl should be allowed to enjoy and taste fruits and vegetables, so that she can wish a bumper harvest of fruits and vegetables in the coming year. The offerings include tea, wine, fresh fruit, five kinds of seeds (longan, red dates, hazelnuts, peanuts and melon seeds), flowers, pollen from female cosmetics and a censer. Generally, after fasting and bathing, everyone takes turns to burn incense and worship God and pray silently. Women not only seek wisdom, but also children, longevity, beauty and love. Then, everyone eats fruit, drinks tea and chats.
When playing the game of seeking cleverness, there are two ways to seek cleverness: one is "divination", that is, using divination tools to ask yourself whether you are smart or stupid; The other is clever match, that is, whoever wears the needle quickly is clever, and the slow one is called "losing cleverness". People who "lose their intelligence" should prepare some small gifts for smart people. In some areas, "Seven Sisters Club" was organized, and "Seven Sisters Club" from all over the country gathered in Zongxiang Guild Hall, put on various incense tables, and offered sacrifices to Cowherd and Weaver Maid at a distance. All the "incense tables" are made of paper, and the tables are filled with flowers, fruits, rouge powder, paper floral dresses, shoes, daily necessities and embroidery, and so on.
The "Seven Sisters Club" in different regions will work hard on the incense table to see who makes it exquisite. Nowadays, this activity has been forgotten, and only a few ancestral halls still set up incense tables on this festival to worship the cowherd and the weaver girl. Incense tables are usually prepared on the seventh day of July, and at night they begin to plead with the Weaver Girl. Proper fruit is the most famous holiday food in Chinese Valentine's Day. Proper fruit, also called "Kiki Fruit", has many styles. The main materials are oil, flour, sugar and honey. "Dream of China in Tokyo" refers to it as "laughing boy" and "eating fruit patterns", and the patterns include holding incense and winning prizes.
In the Song Dynasty, appropriate fruits were sold in the market. The method of proper fruit is: first, put sugar into a pot and melt it into syrup, then mix it with flour and sesame seeds, spread it on the table, let it cool, cut it into cubes with a knife, and finally fold it into spindle-shaped proper fruit embryo and fry it until golden. Handy women will also create various patterns related to the legend of Qixi. In addition, there are many changes in the melons and fruits used in Qiqiao: either the melons and fruits are carved into exotic flowers and birds, or the surface of the melon skin is embossed; This kind of melon is called "flower melon". To this day, Tanabata is still a romantic traditional festival.
However, many customs have weakened or disappeared, and only the legend of Cowherd and Weaver Girl, which symbolizes loyal love, has been circulated among the people.