The origin of the Qixi Festival is: The Qixi Festival is derived from the worship of stars. It is the birthday of the Seventh Sister in the traditional sense. Because the worship ceremony for the "Seventh Sister" is held on the seventh night of July, it is called "Seventh Sister". Chinese Valentine's Day". The customs are: worshiping the Seventh Sister, praying for blessings and making wishes, begging for skills, sitting and watching Altair and Vega, praying for marriage, storing Qixi Festival water, etc.
The Chinese Valentine's Day is not only a festival to worship the Seventh Sister, but also a festival of love. It is a comprehensive festival based on the folk legend of "Cowherd and Weaver Girl", with the themes of praying for blessings, begging for skill, and love, and with women as the main body. . The "Cowherd and Weaver Girl" on Chinese Valentine's Day comes from people's worship of natural astronomical phenomena. In ancient times, people corresponded astronomical star areas and geographical areas. This correspondence is called "divided stars" in terms of astronomy, and "divided stars" in terms of geography. Divide”.
It is said that the Weaver Girl, the granddaughter of the ancient Emperor of Heaven, was good at weaving and weaved colorful clouds into the sky every day. She hated this boring life, so she secretly descended to the mortal world, privately married a cowherd in Hexi, and lived a life where men farmed and women weaved. This incident angered the Emperor of Heaven, who took the Weaver Girl back to the Heavenly Palace and ordered them to separate. They were only allowed to meet on the Magpie Bridge once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. Their faithful love moved the magpies. Countless magpies flew over and used their bodies to build a magpie bridge across the Tianhe River, so that the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl could meet on the Tianhe River.
Introduction to the customs of the Chinese Valentine's Day:
1. Welcome the Immortals: The Qiqiao Festival in Guangzhou, Guangdong is unique. Before the festival arrives, girls prepare colorful paper, grass and threads in advance. Ropes and other ropes are woven into various ingenious gadgets. Grain seeds and mung beans are also put into small boxes and soaked in water to make them germinate. When the buds grow to more than two inches long, they are used to worship gods, which is called "worship". "Xianhe" and "God-worshiping vegetables". Starting from the sixth night to the seventh night of the Lunar New Year, for two nights in a row, the girls put on new clothes and new jewelry. After everything is arranged, they burn incense, light candles, and kneel to the stars to worship, which is called "Welcoming the Immortals."
2. Swim in Qijie Water: According to folklore, seven fairies from heaven will come down to the earth to bathe in the river during the Chinese Valentine's Day. At this time, the river water is stained with fairy spirit, and people who wash it will not only bring luck, but also good fortune. Diseases can be prevented. Folks in Baise, Jingxi and other places in Guangxi believe that the water on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month is very holy and clean. The water on Qixi Festival can not only drive away evil spirits and avoid diseases, but also make people happy in love and live a happy life. This custom is related to the local legend of seven fairies descending to earth to take a bath.
The above content refers to Baidu Encyclopedia-Qixi Festival