Qixi origin
According to legend, on this night every year, it is the weaver girl and the cowherd in the sky who meet at the magpie bridge. The Weaver Girl is a beautiful, intelligent and ingenious fairy. On this night, ordinary women begged her for wisdom and skillful skills, and also asked her for a happy marriage.
According to legend, on the night of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, women begged Vega for wisdom and ingenuity in the courtyard, so it was called "begging for cleverness". It originated from the worship of nature and women's needlework, and was later endowed with the legend of Cowherd and Weaver Girl, making it a festival symbolizing love.
Qixi custom
Needle-piercing
This is the earliest way of begging for cleverness, which began in Han Dynasty and spread to later generations. On the night of Qixi Festival, women hold five-color silk thread and nine-hole needles (or five-hole needles and seven-hole needles) arranged in succession, and take advantage of the moonlight to thread the needle to the moon continuously, calling those who pass the thread quickly and completely "getting clever".
Spider should be clever
Its custom was a little later than asking for cleverness with needles, and it probably started in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. In the Southern Dynasties, Liang Zonggu said, "A Record of the Age of Jingchu"; "It's evening, Chen melon and fruit in court to beg for cleverness. If you have a happy subnet on the melon, you think it corresponds. "
Needle throwing and skill testing
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.
Seed seeking
A few days before Tanabata, 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 on it, and make it look like a small village in Tiansheren, which is called "shell board", or soak mung beans, adzuki beans and wheat in a magnetic bowl, and then tie it into a bundle with red and blue silk ropes, which is called "shell board".
For Niu Qingsheng
Children will pick wild flowers and hang them on their horns on Qixi Day, which is also called "Happy Birthday to the Cow".
Drying books and clothes
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.
Seventh sister's birthday
In Guangzhou, married women are generally not allowed to attend the Qixi Festival, but the newly-married bride will hold a "farewell ceremony" on the first Qixi Festival.
paint one's nails
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.
Sacrifice grinding and drinking music
"Mohelie" is a children's plaything in Chinese Valentine's Day, China, that is, a small clay doll. Its image is mostly a lotus leaf half-arm dress, holding a lotus leaf.
Worship the weaver girl
"Worship the Weaver Girl" is purely a matter for girls and young women. Everyone sat around the table together, eating peanuts and melon seeds, and meditating on their own thoughts at the same time. 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.
Baikuixing
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.
Eat proper fruit.
Proper fruit, also known as "Qiqiao Fruit", is a festival food on Tanabata. There are many styles, and the main material is oily molasses.