What are the customs of Valentine's Day in China?

What are the customs of Qixi Festival? There are all customs on the Qixi Festival: threading needles and begging for cleverness, throwing needles to check cleverness, planting seeds and asking for children, celebrating the birth of cattle, drying books and clothes, offering sacrifices to "grinding drink music", worshiping the weaving girl, worshiping Kuixing, eating Qiaoguo, and on the birthday of Seventh Sister, the needle-doers "lose cleverness" and present each other to show friendship, dye their nails, wash the hair of women, tie Qiaogu, and worship "Qiaomang".

Customs 1 of the Qixi Festival: Thread needles and beg for cleverness网站图片位

This is the earliest way of begging for cleverness, which began in the Han Dynasty and has passed down to future generations. "Xijing Miscellaneous Notes" said: "Colorful women in the Han Dynasty often wear seven-hole needles in the Kaijin Building on July 7. People are familiar with it." Liang Zongmou's "Jingchu Times" in the Southern Dynasties said: "On the 7th of July, it is the evening when women wear colorful buildings and wear seven holes outside, or use gold, silver and jade stones as needles." "Yu Di Zhi" said: "Emperor Wu of Qi built a temple in the city. On July 7, many palace people stepped on it and threaded needles. The world calls it a needle building." Wang Renyu of the Fifth Dynasty,"The Bereaved of Kaiyuan Tianbao" said: "On the seventh day of the seventh day, the palace was formed of brocade. It was a hundred feet high and could surpass dozens of people. The table was roasted with melons and fruits and wine, and seats were set up to worship the two stars of cattle and women. The concubines each used a nine-hole needle and five-color thread to pierce it towards the moon. Those who passed by were the Marquis who had learned how to do it. Playing the song of Qing Dynasty and Shang Dynasty, banquets and music will last until the end of the day. All the families of the local people follow it." Yuan Tao Zongyi's "Yuan's Ye Ting Lu" said: "Jiuyintai is the place where you ask for skills on the seventh day. In the evening, the palace ladies took the stage and used colorful silk to thread nine-tailed needles. Those who finished first were considered skillful, and those who finished later were called losing skillful. Each contributed money to the person who got skillful."

The second custom of the Qixi Festival: Xi spider should be skillful in the

This is also an early way of begging for cleverness. Its custom is slightly later than threading a needle and begging for cleverness, which roughly dates from the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Liang Zongxin's "Jingchu Years of the Year" of the Southern Dynasties said: "That night, Chen melon and fruit were begging for cleverness in the courtyard. If you have a happy net on a melon, you will think it is a response."

Wang Renyu's "The Legacy of Kaiyuan Tianbao" of the Fifth Dynasty said: "On the 7th of July, each person caught spiders in a small box and opened it at dawn; he regarded the sparse spider webs as a master who had learned the skills. The secret ones speak more cleverly, and the rare ones speak less cleverly. The people also follow this example."The" Tokyo Dream Hua Lu ", a veteran of the Song Dynasty, said that on the seventh day of July," a small spider is used to settle the knot in the nest. When you look at it the next day, it will be like a round net." Song Jingyi's "Qianchun Years Notes" said: "Store small spiders in it and wait for the density of the web to be skillful." Ming Tian Rucheng's "Xi Dynasty Happiness" said that on the Qixi Festival,"a small box holds spiders, and the next morning, I will observe the density of the web and think how clever it is." It can be seen that there were differences in the methods of testing cleverness in the past dynasties. The Northern and Southern Dynasties viewed the existence of nets, the Tang Dynasty viewed the scarcity of nets, and the Song Dynasty viewed the roundness of nets. Later generations mostly followed Tang customs.

Customs 3 of the Qixi Festival: Putting needles to check for skills

This is a variation of the custom of needle-threading and begging for skills on the Qixi Festival. It originated from needle-threading but was different from needle-threading. It was a popular Qixi Festival custom in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Liu Dong and Yu Yizheng of the Ming Dynasty said: "The clever needle was lost at noon on July 7th. Women exposed themselves to the water in the sun. In a while, the water film covered the surface, and the embroidery needles floated when they cast them. Look at the shadows of the needles on the bottom of the water. If there are clouds and objects with flowers and the shadows of birds and animals, if there are shoes and scissors, the shadows of eggplants are begging for cleverness; their shadows are as thick as hammers, as thin as silk, and as straight as axes of wax. This is a clumsy sign." "Zhili Chronicles" also said that in Liangxiang County (now southwest of Beijing),"on July 7th, women begged for cleverness and threw needles in the water, borrowing the shadow of the sun to test their incompetence, and still begged for cleverness at night." Yu Minzhong's "Old News of Sunset" quoted "Wanshu Miscellaneous Notes" as saying: "On July 7th, women in Yandu used bowls of water to storm the sun, and each threw a small needle to float on the water and slowly watched the shadow of the sun on the water. Some are scattered like flowers, moving like clouds, as thin as threads, and as thick as cones, because they are cunning as divination women."

Customs 4 of the Qixi Festival: Planting seeds and begging for children

the old custom, a few days before the Qixi Festival, first apply a layer of soil on a small wooden board, sow corn seeds, and let it produce green seedlings. Then place some small thatches, flowers and trees on it to make it look like a small village in a farmhouse, called a "shell board", or soak mung beans, small beans, wheat, etc. in a magnetic bowl, wait for it to grow a suitable bud, and then tie it into a bundle with red and blue silk ropes. It is called" planting", also known as" five-life pot" or" raw flower pot." All parts of the south are also called "paoqiao", and the bean sprouts they grow are called Qiao sprouts, and even Qiao sprouts replace needles and throw them on the water to beg for Qiao sprouts. Wax is also used to create various images, such as the characters in the stories of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, or the shapes of animals such as bald eagles and mandarin ducks, and placed them on the water to float, which is called "floating on the water." There are also baby dolls made of wax that women can buy and float in the water and soil. They think they are good for their children, and are called "metaplasia."

Customs 5 of the Qixi Festival: Celebrating the birthday of Niu网站图片位

Children will pick wild flowers and hang them on the horns of the Qixi Festival, also called "Celebrating the Birthday of Niu." Because it is said that after the Queen Mother of the West separated the Cowherd and the Weaver Nu with the Tianhe River, the old cow asked the Cowherd to peel off its skin and drive its cowherd to see the Weaver Nu in order to allow the Cowherd to cross the Tianhe River to see the Weaver Nu. In order to commemorate the sacrificial spirit of the old cow, people have the custom of "celebrating the birthday of the cow".

Customs 6 of the Qixi Festival: Drying books and clothes

According to records, Sima Yi was suspected by Cao Cao due to his high position and power. In view of the darkness of politics at that time, in order to protect himself, he pretended to be insane and hid at home. Emperor Wu of Wei was still not at ease, so he sent a close confidant, Ling Shi, to secretly investigate the truth. It was July 7th, and Sima Yi, who was pretending to be crazy, was also drying books at home. Shi was ordered to go back and report to Emperor Wu of Wei, who immediately ordered Sima Yi to return to the court to serve, otherwise he could be detained. Sima Yi had no choice but to obey the orders and return to court.

There is also a kind of person who expresses his depression in troubled times with a wanton attitude. They despise etiquette and laws and oppose customs. Volume 25 of Liu Yiqing's "Shi Shuo Xin Yu" says that on July 7th, everyone would publish books in the city. Only Hao Long would run to the sun and lie down. When people asked him why, he replied: "I publish books." On the one hand, this is to despise the custom of publishing books, and on the other hand, it is also to boast about the talents and learning in one's belly. Sunning your belly is also drying your books. The custom of drying clothes in the Han Dynasty created an opportunity for wealthy families to boast of their wealth during the Wei and Jin Dynasties.

Yan Xian, who is listed as the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest", looks down on this style. On July 7, when his neighbor was drying his clothes, he saw that the shelves were full of Lingluo satin and satin, which was dazzling. However, Yan Xian calmly picked up a worn clothes with a bamboo pole. Someone asked him what he was doing. He said: "I can't escape customs. It's a story!" Judging from these few short stories, we can see how popular the custom of drying books and clothes was at that time.

Customs 7 of the Qixi Festival: Worship "Mocha Le"

Mocha Le is a children's plaything on the ancient folk Qixi Festival, namely a small clay puppet. Its image is mostly a lotus leaf half-arm dress with a lotus leaf holding a lotus leaf. On July 7th every year, in Kaifeng's "Panlou Street, Dongsong Outside the Gate, Zhouxi Liang Outside the Gate, Beimen Outside the Gate, South Zhuque Outside the Gate and Maxing Street, all sell grinding and drinking music. They are small plastic earth puppets." In fact, the grinding and drinking music that was later in the Song Dynasty was no longer a small local puppet. On the contrary, the more refined it became. The sizes and postures of Mohalle vary, with the largest being as high as three feet, which is comparable to a real child. The materials used for making are carved with ivory or carved with Longyan Bergamot Fragrance. The dressing up of Mohe Le is extremely exquisite. Some use painted wood carvings as the fence, or use red sand and blue cages as the cover. The toys held in your hands are also mostly decorated with gold, jade and gems. The cost of a pair of Mohe Le Le is often thousands of dollars.

Customs 8 of the Qixi Festival: Worrying to the Weaver Girl

"Worrying to the Weaver Girl" is purely a matter for young girls and young women. Most of them make an appointment with five or six people, up to a dozen, with their friends or neighbors in advance to jointly hold the event. The ceremony was to set a table under the moonlight, with tea, wine, fruits, five seeds (longan, red dates, hazelnuts, peanuts, melon seeds) and other sacrifices placed on the table; there were also a few fresh flowers, a bundle of red paper, and a small censer in front of the flowers. So, we made an appointment for the young women and young girls who participated in the worship of the Weaver to fast for a day, take a bath, and come to the host's home on time. After burning incense in front of the table and praying, everyone sat around the table together, eating peanuts and melon seeds, while facing the Weaver constellation, silently meditating on their own thoughts. For example, young girls who want to be beautiful or marry a suitable man, young women who want to have young children early, etc., can all pray silently to the star Vega. Play until midnight and stop.

Customs 9 of the Qixi Festival: Praying Kuixing

Folk legend July 7 is Kuixing's birthday. Scholars who want to gain fame especially respect Kuixing for literary affairs, so they must pay homage on the seventh day of the seventh day and pray for him to bless themselves for their prosperous career. Kuixing Lord is the Kuidou Star, and Kuixing Star in the 28th Constellations is the first star of the Big Dipper and is also the Kuixing Star or Kuixing Star. In ancient times, when the number one scholar among scholars was called "the most powerful scholar in the world" or "winning the championship in one fell swoop", all because the Kuixing was in charge of the examination luck.

Customs 10 on the Qixi Festival: Eating Qiaoguo

Qiaoguo is the most famous food for Qiaoguo. Qiaoguo, also known as "Qiaoguo", has many styles. The main material is oily molasses. In "Tokyo Menghualu", they are "Xiao Yan 'er" and "Fruit Food Pattern", while the patterns include Naxiang, Fang Sheng, etc. During the Song Dynasty, Qixi fruits were already sold on the city streets.

If you buy a pound of Qiaoguo, there will be a pair of puppets wearing battle armor, like door gods, known as the "Fruit Food General". The method of Qixi Qiaoguo is: first put white sugar in a pot and melt it into syrup, then add flour and sesame seeds, mix well, spread it on the table and hold thin, let cool, cut it into long squares with a knife, especially fold it into shuttle-shaped noodles and fry it until golden brown. Women with skillful hands will also create various tricks related to the legend of the Qixi Festival. In addition, the melons and fruits used when begging for cleverness can also be changed in many ways. Or the melons and fruits are carved into strange flowers and birds, or the surface of the melon skin is embossed with a ticket) pattern, which is called "flower melons."

Customs of the Qixi Festival 11: Seventh Sister's Birthday

It was very lively to celebrate the Qiqiao Festival in Guangzhou in the past. Liu Kezhuang, a native of the Song Dynasty, once wrote a poem: "Melons and fruits are blessed with fists, and my throat is full of praise. Cantonese people value the beautiful evening, and the lights come to dawn." Before the festival arrives, girls prepare various strange toys in advance, and use grass, colored paper, sesame seeds, rice grains, etc. to make various flowers, fruits, ladies, utensils, palace models, etc. Put the grain seeds and mung beans into a small box and soak them to germinate. When the buds grow to more than two inches long, they are used to worship the gods. They are called "worshiping fairy fruit" and "worshiping vegetables." On the evening of Qixi, most people in Guangzhou start from the evening of the sixth day to the evening of the seventh day, for two consecutive nights.) The girls put on new clothes, new jewelry, and even painted their fingernails red. Then they put on various items that had been prepared, such as antiques and curiosities, flowers, seasonal fruits, and cosmetics, were placed on the Eight Immortals Terrace in the hall, and there was also an oil lamp placed between the "Xianhe" or "Xiancai". At this time, the halls of people with expensive expenses are decorated with brocade screens and embroidered chairs, and most people try their best to decorate the halls as well as possible. After everything was arranged, the girls burned incense and lit candles, and knelt down to the stars, known as "welcoming immortals." From the third watch to the fifth watch, you must bow seven times in a row. At this time, in addition to inviting relatives and friends to visit, we also invite familiar and unknown girls in the neighborhood to worship God together and taste Qiaoyi and toys. They will be happy and lively. For example, the more people praise Qiaoyi and toys, the happier and more honored the host girl will be. Girls in Guangzhou said that there are many times in their lives to be able to show off their skills in front of everyone like this. After worshiping the immortal, the girls held colorful threads in their hands and pointed the thread through the pinhole at the shadow of the lamp. In ancient times, those who could pass through seven pinhole holes in one breath were called skillful hands, but they could not pass through the seven holes.

Customs 12 of the Qixi Festival: Those who needle should "lose their skills"

as described by the poet of the Tang Dynasty: "It is easy to thread a needle towards the moon, but difficult to thread it in the wind. I don't know who got the trick, but I'll try it tomorrow." Then he burned a round paper box (dressing box), which contained paper clothes, shoes, makeup powder, dressing mirror, combs, etc., each in seven copies. After the worship ceremony, the decorations on the Eight Immortals Terrace will remain unchanged and will be reserved for the girls to visit and comment on each other on the seventh day of the next day. According to some books from the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Republic of China, the skills displayed by Guangzhou girls during the Qixi Festival include embroidered shoes the size of a grain, various fans the size of a fingernail, exquisite and light small curtains, and special lotus flowers., jasmine, roses, night flowers, etc. The flower pot is only the size of a cup, and there are two flowers painted in the pot, one real and the other fake, making it difficult to distinguish. On the evening of the seventh day of the lunar new day, we continued to worship the gods as we did last night, called "worshiping the cowherd", and the boy generally presided over the sacrifice. After the Qixi Festival, crafts, toys, etc. made by the girls.

Customs 13 of the Qixi Festival: Gifts to each other to show friendship

Guangzhou Qixi Festival worship. Married women are generally not allowed to participate, but the newly married bride will hold a "farewell to the immortal" ceremony during the first Qixi Festival. That is, when worshiping gods on the evening of the sixth day of the lunar new day, in addition to the sacrifice of sweet wine, red eggs, sour ginger, etc., snow pear or pear is also added to imply the intention of bidding farewell to the girl's day.

According to Volume 17 of the "Guangzhou City Annals", on the seventh day of the lunar new day, there are still women's boat rafting tours of Shimen) Chenxiangpu. Yachts are decorated with jasmine flowers and jasmine flowers and are called flower boats. They believe this day is "Fairy Shower Day". The water quality of Shimenpu is clear and shines back on the two mountains at sunrise and sunset. Sometimes some illusions appear in the sky like tickets to mirage. The boaters hope to be lucky enough to see the strange ones appear, so the girls 'trip to Chenxiangpu in Shimen on the seventh day has become an important part. It is very lively and has become a festival custom.

Customs of Qixi Festival 14: Nail dyeing

nail dyeing is a custom of Qixi Festival spread in southwestern China. This trend is also common in many county annals in Sichuan Province, as well as in Guizhou and Guangdong. Young girls in many areas like to wash their hair with tree pulp during festivals. It is said that they can not only be young and beautiful, but also find a suitable husband for unmarried women as soon as possible. Dyeing nails with flowers and plants is also a preference for most women and children during festivals and entertainment, and is also closely related to fertility beliefs.

Customs 15 of the Qixi Festival: Women's Shampoo

Women's Shampoo on the Qixi Festival is also a special custom. There are such records in Hunan, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. For example, the Chronicles of You County in Xiangtan Prefecture, Hunan Province: "On July 7, women picked cypress leaves and peach branches, fried soup and washed their hair." The "Ji" by the famous prose artist Qi Jun (native of Zhejiang) also mentioned that his mother, uncles and other female relatives were all bathing their hair on the seventh day. This custom is probably related to the belief in "holy water" on the seventh day. People believe that taking spring water and river water on Qixi Day is like taking water from the Milky Way, which has pure sacred power. Some places directly call it "Holy Water". Therefore, it has special significance for women to bathe their hair on this day. It means that using the holy water in the Milky Way to purify their hair, they will surely receive the protection of the goddess weaving.

The custom of using a washbasin to catch dew is also popular. It is said that the dew during the Qixi Festival is the tears of the cowherd and the Weaver Girl when they meet. It is like wiping it on your eyes and hands, which can make people's eyes sharp and quick.

Qixi Festival custom sixteen: ligation Qiao Gu网站图片位

Shaanxi Loess Plateau region, in the Qixi Festival night also held a variety of Qiqiao activities custom, women often have to tie the grass man wearing flower clothes, called Qiao Gu, not only for fruits and melons, but also planting bean sprouts, green onions, in the Qixi night every woman hand a bowl of water, cut bean sprouts, green onions, into the water, with the shadow of the moon cast to divination Zhuo Qiao life, but also thread, competition. At the same time, an activity was also held to cut window grilles and compare them with skillful hands.

Customs of Qixi Festival 17: Worrying "Qiniangma"Qixi Festival in southern Fujian and Taiwan is the birthday of "Qiniangma". It is very popular among the people to worship Qiniangma, who is regarded as an idol who protects the safety and health of children. According to textual research on the book "Minnan People" by Lin Zaifu, a Taiwanese scholar born in Minnan, the Minnan people used to cross the gorge and cross the ocean to do business and make a living in Taiwan or other foreign countries. Most of them failed to return for many years. Women had to place all their hopes on their children. Only with hope can they have the courage to live. Therefore, the Qixi Festival, a lovesickness festival, has evolved into a prayer for the "Qianniang Ma" god who protects children.