The most common custom in Chinese Valentine's Day is all kinds of begging activities carried out by women on the night of the seventh day of July. Most of the ways of begging for cleverness are that girls try their best to make small items and put some melons and fruits on them. The ways of begging for cleverness in different regions are different and have their own interests. The traditional customs of Tanabata are: piercing needles to beg for cleverness, liking spiders to be clever, throwing needles to test cleverness, breeding children, drying books and clothes for Niu Qingsheng, worshiping weaver girls, kuixing stars, eating proper fruit, the birthday of the seventh sister, and so on.
Sit and watch the morning glory and the weaver star.
Sitting and watching Altair and Vega is the most common custom in Chinese Valentine's Day. On a clear summer and autumn night, the stars are shining in the sky, and a white Milky Way runs across the north and south. On the east and west banks of the Milky Way, there is a shining star, facing each other across the river, which is Altair and Vega. It is said that on the night of Tanabata, you can look up and see the Milky Way where the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet, or you can eavesdrop on the love story when they meet in the sky under the melon and fruit shelf.
Cowherd and Weaver Girl Meet.
In the Ming Dynasty's "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital", there is a record of "losing a clever needle at noon on July 7". Specifically, on the sixth day of July, girls will call well water and river water, mix half of them, put them in bowls and expose them to the sun. After more than a day of exposure, the water will form a thin film. On the night of Chinese Valentine's Day, take out the embroidery needle, gently put it on the water, and see what the projection at the bottom of the bowl looks like with the help of the faint moonlight, so as to predict whether the future husband will be a scholar or a martial artist, an official or a businessman ...
Listen to whispers under the pumpkin shed
The legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl is one of the four great legends in China, which probably originated in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Legend has it that they came by cloud and met on the magpie bridge. Speaking of magpie bridge, people think that it was built by a hundred suozi from magpie. Baisuozi is a five-color thread that people put on their children's wrists to ward off evil spirits on the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of May. On June 6th, adults will take off their children's Baisuozi and throw it on the roof. And these colorful hundred suozi, after drying for a month, will be taken by magpies one by one to build a bridge for the cowherd and the weaver girl to meet.
Girl begging for cleverness
On this romantic night, facing the bright moon in the sky, the girls put seasonal fruits and vegetables to worship in the sky, begging the goddess in the sky to give them intelligent hearts and dexterous hands, so that they can master their needlework skills, and even beg for the marriage of love and marriage. In the past, marriage was a lifelong event for women to decide whether they would be happy or not. Therefore, countless sentient men and women in the world would pray for a happy marriage against the starry sky at this quiet night.
Seed seeking
In the old customs, a few days before Tanabata, we first spread a layer of soil on a small wooden board, sow the seeds of millet, let it produce green seedlings, then put some small huts and flowers and trees on it to make it look like a small village in Tiansheren, called a "shell board", or soak mung beans, adzuki beans and wheat in a magnetic bowl, and then tie it with red and blue silk ropes. All parts of the south are also called "bubble cleverness", and the sprouted bean sprouts are called clever buds, and even the needles are replaced by clever buds, which are thrown on the water to beg for cleverness. Wax is also used to mold various images, such as the characters in the stories of Cowherd and Weaver Girl, or the shapes of vultures, mandarin ducks and other animals, and float on the water, which is called "floating on the water". There are also baby dolls made of wax, which women can buy home and float in the water and soil, so as to be auspicious for their children, which is called "metaplasia".
Spider should be clever
Spiders are also mascots among the people, and they are called hi-hi spiders. Hi-hi spider is also one of the games of Qixi. This game may have originated in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Girls put their needlework in small bamboo tablets, and some put timely fruits and vegetables. Then catch a spider and put it in. Cover it with a piece of cloth. Come over one night, uncover the cloth covered on it, and if you see a spider web, it indicates that there will be a beautiful marriage waiting for you.
Needle-piercing
This is the earliest way of begging for cleverness, which began in Han dynasty and flowed to later generations. (Miscellaneous Notes on Xijing) said: "Women in the Han Dynasty often wear seven-hole needles in the Kaijin Building on July 7, and people have Xi Zhi." In the Southern Dynasties, Liang Zongmou said: "On July 7th, it was a woman in the evening family who tied a colorful building and pierced seven holes, or used gold and silver as needles."
Needle throwing and skill testing
This is a variant of the custom of needlework on Tanabata, which originated from needlework and is different from needlework. It is a popular Chinese Valentine's Day custom in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Liu Dong and Yu Yizheng's "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital" in the Ming Dynasty said: "On the afternoon of July 7th, we lost a clever needle. When women are exposed to the water, the water film looks unfamiliar, while the embroidery needle floats and looks at the shadow of the underwater needle. Those who have clouds, flowers, birds and animals, shoes and scissors, and eggplant shadows are called clever begging; Its shadow is as thick as a hammer, as thin as silk, and as straight as axis wax, which is a mistake. " Zhili Records also said that in Liangxiang County (now southwest of Beijing), "On July 7th, women begged for cleverness and threw needles into the water, relying on the shadow of the sun to check their work, and they were still begging for cleverness at night." Please ask Yu Minzhong to quote Miscellaneous Notes of Wan Department from the Examination of Old News in the Sun: "On July 7th, Yan Dou women threw small needles into the water. Or scattered like a flower, moving like a cloud, as thin as a line, as thick as a cone, because of the ingenuity of divining women. "
Lan ye dou Qiao
The game originated from the court of the Han Dynasty. Jia Peilan, the maid-in-waiting of Mrs. Qi, the wife of Emperor Gaozu, often talked to people about the Qixi Festival in the Han Palace after leaving the palace to marry Duan Ru, a Fufeng man. She said: "On the 7th of July every year, the Han Palace is first played in Chi Pan, the ancient philosophers, and then it is tied with five colors, which is called" mutual affection ". Later, the palace ladies went to the closed-top building together, and everyone learned to wear seven clever needles to beg for cleverness. And there is a maid-in-waiting named Xu Jieyu, who can carve the raw lotus root into various exotic flowers and birds and present them to the emperor. The emperor will put these gadgets on the corner of the table in the palace at night for the maids to look for in the dark. This game is called' Dou Qiao'. "
Heniu birthday
Children will pick wild flowers and hang them on their horns on Qixi Day, which is also called "Happy Birthday to the Cow". 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
According to the report, Sima Yi was very suspicious of Cao Cao because of his high position and power. In view of the darkness of politics 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.
There is also a kind of person who, in troubled times, expresses his depression by being a degenerate. They despise etiquette and oppose customs. Liu Yiqing's "Shi Shuo Xin Yu", volume 25, says that everyone will print books on July 7, and only Hao Long ran to lie in the sun. When people asked him why, he replied, "I print 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.
Women wash their hair and receive dew.
It is also a special custom for women to wash their hair on Tanabata. It is recorded in Hunan, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. For example, "You County Records" in Xiangtan, Hunan Province: "On July 7, women picked cypress leaves and peach branches, fried soup and soaked their hair." Qi Jun (Zhejiang), a famous prose writer, also mentioned in her "Ji" that her mother, uncle and aunt and other harem all had their hair bathed on Tanabata. This custom is related to the belief in "holy water" on Tanabata. It is believed that taking spring water and river water on Tanabata Day, just like taking water from the Milky Way, has the sacred power of cleanliness. Some places directly call it "the holy water of Tiansun (the Weaver Girl)". Therefore, it is of special significance for women to bathe their hair on this day, which means that with the holy water in the Milky Way, they will be protected by the Weaver Goddess.
It is also popular to catch dew with a washbasin. Legend has it that the dew in Chinese Valentine's Day is the tears when the cowherd and the weaver girl meet. If it is put on the eyes and hands, it can make people nimble.
paint one's nails
Nail dyeing is a custom of Qixi, which is popular in southwest China, and it is also popular in many county records of Sichuan Province, Guizhou and Guangdong. Young girls in many areas like to wash their hair with the sap of trees during festivals. It is said that not only can they be young and beautiful, but also unmarried women can find the right husband as soon as possible. Dyeing nails with flowers and plants is also a hobby of most women and children in holiday entertainment, and it is also closely related to reproductive beliefs.
Yingxian
Guangzhou's Begging for Clevership Festival is unique. Before the festival comes, girls prepare colorful paper, medulla tetrapanacis, string and so on in advance, and weave them into all kinds of fancy gadgets. They also put the seeds and mung beans in a small box and soak them in water to germinate them. When the buds grow to more than two inches, they are used to worship the gods, which are called "worshipping the immortals" and "worshipping the gods". From the sixth night to the seventh night, for two nights in a row, the girls put on new clothes and jewelry. After everything is arranged, they burn incense and light candles and bow down to the stars, which is called "welcoming the fairy". From the third night to the fifth watch, they have to worship seven times in a row. After worshipping the immortals, the girls hold colored threads in their hands and thread them through the pinholes. 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 gave each other small handicrafts and toys to show their friendship.
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.
Baikuixing
On the seventh day of July, it was Kuixing's birthday, so there was a custom to celebrate Kuixing's birthday. "Kui" meant "first", and winning the first place in the ancient imperial examination was called "winning the championship" and "winning the championship". In the old days, scholars believed that the Big Dipper was Wenchang Mansion, and its first star was called Kuixing. In ancient times, when astrology was prevalent, people believed that a certain star was the master of something, so they sacrificed Kuixing as the god of the main scientific research.
Sacrifice "grinding and drinking music"
Mohelie is a children's plaything in Chinese Valentine's Day in the old days, that is, a small clay doll. Its 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, after the late Song Dynasty, the music of grinding and drinking was no longer a small clay doll, on the contrary, it became 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.
Under the moon, the union knot, threading the needle.
In Jiaodong area, there is a custom of worshipping the Seven Sisters. Young women often like to get together in Chinese Valentine's Day in their new clothes and get married in Seven Sisters at the end of the month. Some even sang "Emperor Emperor Dihuang, I invite my seventh sister to heaven. Don't look at your needle, don't look at your thread, and look at your 72 good means. " They also competed for the title of skillful hands.
Grow clever vegetables and make clever flowers.
There are two kinds of activities in Rongcheng, Shandong Province. One is "Qiao Cai", that is, young girls cultivate malt in wine glasses, and the other is "Qiao Hua", in which young girls use flour to mold various foods with flowers.
Clear water, see the shadow, and be sure to be clever and clumsy.
Qiaoqiao activity in Jiangsu area is to take a bowl of clean water and expose it to the sun, and spend the night in the open air. That is, picking up fine grass sticks and floating in the water depends on their shadows. There are also many young women who use small needles to see the shadow of underwater needles to fulfill their wisdom and stupidity. Han people in other areas also use this method to fulfill their cleverness and stupidity.
Tanabata water storage, seven knots of red rope
In some areas of Guangxi, there is a custom of storing water on Tanabata. It is believed that double seven-bath can eliminate disasters and diseases. Children who are weak and sick often tie a red head rope in seven knots on this day and wear it around their necks to pray for health and good luck.
Eat smart food
Chinese Valentine's Day's food customs vary from place to place, and they are generally called clever food. Among them, jiaozi, noodles, avocados, wonton and other foods are used for this festival. Eat cloud noodles, which have to be made of dew, and you can get clever meaning by eating it. There are also many folk pastry shops, which like to make some crisp candies with the image of Weaver Girl, commonly known as "homo habilis" and "Qiao Crisp", and when they are sold, they are also called "Send to homo habilis". This custom has been spread in some areas so far.
Proper fruit is the most famous festival food on Tanabata. Proper fruit, also known as "Kiki Kiki Fruit", has many styles. The main material is oil surface molasses. If you buy a catty of proper fruit, there will be a pair of dolls dressed in armor, such as door gods, known as "General Fruit Food". Proper fruit's practice is: first put the white sugar in the pot and melt it into syrup, then add the flour and sesame seeds, mix well, spread it on the table, cool it, cut it into long squares with a knife, especially fold it into a spindle-shaped dough, and fry it until it is golden. Handy women will also create various patterns related to the legend of Qixi. In addition, the melons and fruits used for begging for cleverness can also be varied. Or carve melons and fruits into exotic flowers and birds, or emboss patterns on the surface of melon skin, which is called "flower melon".
Ligate Qiao gu
In the Loess Plateau of Shaanxi Province, it is also the custom to hold various begging activities at night in Chinese Valentine's Day. Women often have to tie up grass people wearing flowery clothes, which is called Qiao Gu. Not only do they have to provide melons and fruits, but they also plant bean sprouts and shallots. On Tanabata night, all women carry a bowl of water in their hands, cut bean sprouts and shallots, put them into the water, and use the shadow of the moon to predict the fate of cleverness. They also wear needles and thread to compete. At the same time, an activity of cutting window grilles is held.
Zhejiang Qixi Xiangqiao Club
In Gudoujing Village, Tanghui Township, Jiaxing, Zhejiang, there is a Qixi Bridge Meeting. Every year on Tanabata, people come to participate and build a fragrant bridge. The so-called incense bridge is a bridge with a length of about four or five meters and a width of about half a meter, which is made of all kinds of thick and long wrapped incense (thread incense wrapped in paper), fitted with railings and decorated with flowers made of five-color lines. At night, people offer sacrifices to the Double Star, begging for good fortune, and then incinerate the Xiangqiao, symbolizing that the Double Star has crossed the Xiangqiao and met happily. This fragrant bridge is derived from the legendary magpie bridge legend.
Worship the seven sisters
In Jiaodong area, more people worship the seven sisters on Tanabata. Young women put on their new clothes, gathered together, tied the knot in Seven Sisters in the court, and sang a ballad: "Emperor Dihuang, I invite my seventh sister to heaven. I don't want to draw your needle, I don't want to draw your line, and I want to show you 72 good means. " In many places, "Qiao Hua" is also made. Girls use flour to make cakes and buns (or proper fruit) with flowers, such as peony, lotus, plum, orchid and chrysanthemum. There are also Qiao Cai, that is, malt is cultivated in a small handleless wine cup (this is the "breeding" in the Song Dynasty), and proper fruit and Qiao Cai are used to offer sacrifices to Zhinv.
That night, the girls all rested on the straw mats on the ground floor of the Buddhist temple. When gastrodia elata was bright, a group of girls went to the fields to make dew. When the dew on July 7th is applied to your hair, it will grow dark and dense. Everyone tried to beat off the dew on the grass, rice and all kinds of flowers and plants with their hands and put it on their hair, making it look like it was wet before it emerged from the water.
Worship "Seven Mothers"
Minnan and Chinese Valentine's Day in Taiwan Province are the birthdays of "Seven Mothers". It is very popular among the people to worship Qi Nian Ma, which is regarded as an idol to protect children's peace and health. According to the textual research of the book Minnan People written by Lin Zaifu, a scholar from Taiwan Province in southern Fujian, most Minnan people have failed to return to Taiwan Province or other foreign countries to do business and make a living for many years, so women have to pin all their hopes on their children, and only with hope can they have the courage to live. Therefore, Tanabata, a lovesick festival, has evolved into a prayer for the "seven mothers" who protect children.