Chinese Valentine's Day is the seventh day of July in the lunar calendar. Chinese Valentine's Day, also known as Qiqiao Festival, Qijie Festival, Daughter's Day, Begging for Cleverness Festival, etc. It is a traditional folk festival in China, which is derived from the worship of the stars. It is the birthday of the Seventh Sister in the traditional sense. Because the worship of the Seventh Sister was held on July 7th, it was named Qixi. In 2006, it was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. Festivals began in ancient times, spread in the Western Han Dynasty, and flourished in the Song Dynasty. They were endowed with the beautiful love legend of "Cowherd and Weaver Girl", which made them become a festival symbolizing love, thus being considered as the most romantic traditional festival in China.

Origin of Chinese Valentine's Day's name

1, double seven: the sun, the moon and the day are all seven, so it is called double seven, and it is also weighed seven.

2. Week: The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl are in a special position, and they can only meet once a year, so this day is called the week.

3. Qiaoxi: It is called Qiaoxi because there is a custom of begging for cleverness on Tanabata.

4. Women's Day: Chinese Valentine's Day is called Women's Day, also known as Girls' Day and Girls' Day, because girls worship immortals, beg for cleverness and compete for cleverness.

5. Blue Night: The seventh month of the lunar calendar is called "Blue Moon" in ancient times, so Tanabata is also called "Blue Night".

6. Children's Day: It is called Children's Day because the customs such as begging for cleverness and begging for writing are mostly made by girls and boys.

7. Needle-piercing Festival: Because there is a custom of needle-piercing on this day, it is called Needle-piercing Festival.

8, moral wax: July 7, the famous moral wax, this day the five emperors will be in the West for seven days.

Qixi food

1, proper fruit: proper fruit is the most famous festive food for Qixi. Proper fruit, also called "Qiaoqiao Fruit", has many styles. "Begging for clever fruit" is a traditional sacrifice and beauty of Chinese Valentine's Day. On Tanabata night, people bring "fruit begging for cleverness" to the courtyard, and the whole family sit around and taste the craftsmanship of being a "proper fruit".

2. Crispy candy: In some local pastry shops, on this day, they will also make some crisp candy with the image of a weaver girl, commonly known as "homo habilis" and "Qiao Crispy", which is also called "sending it to homo habilis" when they are sold. People believe that people who eat this kind of crisp candy will become ingenious.

3. Qiaoqiao Rice: In Shandong, Qiaoqiao rice is eaten on this day, and the custom of begging for Qiao is very interesting: seven good girls collect food and set food bags, jiaozi, and wrap a copper coin, a needle and a red date into three dumplings respectively. After begging for Qiao activities, they get together to eat dumplings. It is said that they are blessed with money, skillful with needles and early marriage with dates.

4. Melons and fruits: When you are in Fujian and Chinese Valentine's Day, let the Weaver Girl enjoy and taste the fruits and fruits, so as to bless the fruits and fruits harvest in the coming year.

Festival custom of Qixi Festival

1, offering sacrifices to the moon: In ancient times, women had the custom of offering sacrifices to the moon. In traditional culture, the moon has always been a woman's auspicious sign. Women often pray for the moon or pour out their worries. Ancestors offering sacrifices to the moon on the new moon itself is a reflection of their willingness to beg for reproduction, and the surplus of the moon is a metaphor for longevity and prosperity.

2. Needle-piercing for cleverness: Chinese Valentine's Day is the night of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. According to tradition, earthly women should give a banquet in court, bow down to Vega, and beg for their ingenuity, wisdom and exquisite women's skills. On the night of Qixi, women hold five-color silk thread and nine-hole needles arranged in succession to thread the needle on the moon in the moonlight, and those who pass through the thread quickly are called "skillful".

3. Planting and seeking children: Before the festival, several kinds of plants, such as wheat, mung beans, adzuki beans, peas, etc., are put in a vessel and soaked in water. After budding for several inches, they are tied up with red and blue color harnesses on Tanabata, as a symbol of getting a blessing. Also use wax to mold various images and float on the water.

4, for Niu Qingsheng: Children will pick wild flowers and hang them on the horns on the day of Qixi, also known as "Happy Birthday". 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 peel off the skin of the old cow and drive the cowhide of the old cow 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".