For Niu Qingsheng

Children will pick wild flowers and hang them on their horns on Tanabata, which is also called "Happy Birthday to Niu". Because it is said that after the Queen Mother of the West separated the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl with the Tianhe River, the old cow asked the Cowherd to scrape 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 life of the cow".

drying books and clothes

It is reported that Sima Yi was highly regarded by 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 crazy and hid at home. Wei Wudi is still not at ease, so he sent a close friend to make history secretly explore the truth. It was July 7th, and Sima Yi, who pretended to be crazy, was also drying books at home. Make history back to leave Wei Wudi, Wei Wudi immediately ordered to sima yi back to the office, otherwise can be taken into custody. Sima yi only obediently obeyed and returned to the DPRK. Another kind of people, in troubled times, express their depression by being a degenerate. They despise etiquette and oppose customs. Liu Yiqing's "Shi Shuo Xin Yu", volume 25, said that on July 7th, everyone printed books, and only Hao Long went to lie in the sun. When people asked him why, he replied, "I printed books". On the one hand, this is to despise the custom of printing books, on the other hand, it is also to boast about the talent in one's belly. Drying your belly is also drying books. In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the custom of drying clothes in the Han Dynasty created opportunities for rich families to boast about their wealth. Ruan Xian, one of the "Seven Sages of Bamboo Forest", looked down upon this style. On July 7, when his neighbor was drying clothes, he saw that the shelves were full of silk and satin, dazzling. Ruan Xian unhurriedly picked up a worn-out dress with a bamboo pole. Someone asked him what he was doing, and he said, "I can't avoid customs, talk to you!" From these short stories, we can see how prosperous the custom of drying books and clothes on Tanabata was.

Dedicated to Mohelie

Mohelie is a children's plaything in Chinese Valentine's Day in the old days, that is, a small clay doll, whose image is mostly a lotus leaf half-arm dress and holding a lotus leaf. On July 7th, every year, in Kaifeng, "the tile outside Dongsongmen in Panlou Street, the tile outside Xiliangmen in Zhouzhou, the tile outside Beimen, the street outside Nanzhuquemen and Xingjie Ma, they all sell grinding and drinking music, which is a small plastic puppet". In fact, the music of grinding and drinking after the late Song Dynasty is no longer a small puppet, on the contrary, it has become more and more refined. The size and posture of Mohelie vary, and the biggest one is as high as three feet, which is comparable to that of a real child. The materials made are carved with ivory or carved with bergamot incense, and the dressing of grinding and drinking music is extremely exquisite. There are painted wood carvings as column seats, or red sand cages as covers, and the toys held in the hands are mostly decorated with precious stones. The cost of grinding and drinking music is often as high as thousands of dollars.

Tanabata custom

Worship the Weaver Girl

"Worship the Weaver Girl" is purely a matter for girls and young women. Most of them make an appointment with their friends or neighbors in advance for five or six people, up to a dozen people, to jointly hold it. The ceremony was held by laying a table under the moonlight, and offering sacrifices such as tea, wine, fruit, five sons (longan, red dates, hazelnuts, peanuts and melon seeds) on the table. There are a few more flowers, tied with red paper, inserted in bottles, with a small incense burner in front of them. Then, the young women and girls who have made an appointment to attend the worship of the Weaver Girl will fast for one day, take a bath and come to the host's home on time. After burning incense before the case, everyone will sit around the table, eating peanuts and melon seeds, and meditating on their own thoughts while facing the Weaver Girl sign. If girls want to be beautiful or marry a husband, and young women want to have a baby early, they can pray silently to Vega. Play until midnight.

worship kuixing

it is said that July 7th is kuixing's birthday. Kuixing literature, scholars who want to seek fame especially admire Kuixing, so they must worship him on Tanabata and pray for him to bless their success in the exam. Lord Kuixing is the Kuidou star, the Kuixing in the Twenty-eight Nights, the first star of the Big Dipper, and also the Kuixing or the champion. In ancient times, scholars were called "the greatest scholar in the world" or "winning the championship in one fell swoop" because Kuixing was in charge of the exam.

Bai Kuixing According to folklore, Lord Kuixing was ugly, his face was covered with spots and he was lame. Someone wrote a limerick to make fun of him: if you don't promote it, why decorate it? Even if it is lead, don't cover it. Marrying Ma Gu into two beauties is no worse than coming to the hive. Leave claws under the eyebrows, and geese tread on the sand beside the nose and mouth. It is nothing more than taking a nap in front of the eaves, and the wind blows plum blossoms on your forehead. Xiang Jun's jade toe is the most bizarre, with one step higher and one step lower. When you walk leisurely, you want to dance, and the fluttering degree is like a mouth. Only the roads in the world are dangerous, and I am so tired that I am surprised. Don't laugh, the waist branches are often half folded, and the temporary swaying is also colorful.

However, this Master Kui Xing was extremely ambitious, worked hard, and went to high school. When the emperor palace examination visited him, he asked him why his face was covered with spots. He replied, "The pockmarked face is full of stars"; Asked why he was lame, he replied, "Jumping on one foot". The emperor was very satisfied and accepted him.

Another completely different legend says that Master Kui Xing was full of knowledge before his death, but unfortunately he failed in every exam, so he threw himself into the river in grief and indignation. Unexpectedly, he was rescued by the turtle fish and ascended to heaven to become a champion. Because Kuixing can influence the literati's test luck, so every July 7th, his birthday, scholars solemnly worship.