Tanabata origin
The Qixi Festival began in ancient times, popularized in the Western Han Dynasty, and flourished in the Song Dynasty. "Tanabata" originated from people's worship of natural celestial phenomena, time, and numbers. As early as the era of the Book of Songs, people had an understanding of the celestial phenomenon of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, and in the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a personified description: "The Weaver Girl should cross the river on Qixi Festival, and make the magpie a bridge."
Qixi Festival, also known as Qiqiao Festival, Qijie Festival, Daughter's Festival, Qiqiao Festival, Qiniang Society, Qixi Festival, Niu Bull Po Day, Qiaoxi, etc., is a traditional Chinese folk festival. The Qixi Festival is derived from the worship of the stars, which is the birthday of the Seven Sisters in the traditional sense, and is called "Qixi Festival" because the worship of the "Seven Sisters" is held on the seventh night of July.
Folk customs
Qixi Festival is not only a festival to worship the Seven Sisters, but also a festival of love, is a comprehensive festival with the folklore of "Cowherd and Weaver Girl" as the carrier, with the theme of praying, begging and love, and with women as the main body. Among the many folk customs of Tanabata, some have gradually disappeared, but a considerable part has been continued.
1. Thread the needle to the moon
"Threading the needle to the moon" means that on the evening of the seventh day of the seventh month, every household cleans the courtyard, and the young women and girls first bow down to the Vega Star and beg the Vega to bless their ingenuity. Then, they took out the multicolored silk threads and seven silver needles prepared in advance, and threaded the needles to the moon, and whoever finished the seven needles first indicated that she would become a skillful woman in the future.
2. Drying books and clothes
In ancient times, the "Qixi Festival" also had the custom of drying books and clothes, which is said to be able to avoid insects. It is said that people choose to dry books on Qixi Festival because on July 7, the Tianmen Cave is opened, and the sun is strong, which is the "sunshine day" of the dragon king. People mostly expose their clothes and quilts on this day to prevent insects, and readers often expose books on this day.
3. Celebrate the birthday of the cow
In the old days, children would pick wild flowers and hang them on the horns of the ox on the day of the Chinese Valentine's Day, also known as "congratulating the cow's birthday". Because legend has it that after the Queen Mother of the West used the Tianhe River to separate the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, Lao Niu asked the Cowherd to cut off his skin and drive its cowhide to meet the Weaver Girl in order to let the Cowherd cross the Tianhe River. In order to commemorate the sacrificial spirit of the old cow, people have the custom of "celebrating the birthday of the cow".
4. Needle test
Needle testing is a variant of the Qixi needle-piercing custom of begging, which originates from needle-threading, and is different from needle-threading, and is the Qixi Festival custom that prevailed in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The so-called needle casting trick is to prepare a basin first, put it in the patio, and pour in "mandarin duck water", that is, mix the water taken during the day and the water taken at night. But often the river water, well water mixed together poured into the basin is done, the basin and water to the open air overnight, and then the next day, that is, the seventh day of the seventh day of the seventh day of the sun, to noon or afternoon can be "tricky".
5. Spiders should be coincidental
This is also an earlier way of begging, and its custom is slightly later than that of needle begging, roughly starting from the time of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Put the spider in a box or cover it with a bowl, and judge whether it is clever according to a certain standard, if it is based on whether it is a web, if it is a web, it will be skillful; There is a standard based on the number of mesh knots, and the denser the knots, the more clever they beg. There is a standard based on whether the network is organized, and it is said to be clever if it is organized.
6. Seed life and seek children
The festival customs of the Han nationality, a few days before the Qixi Festival, first put a layer of soil on the small wooden board, sow the seeds of corn, let it give birth to green and tender seedlings, and then put some small thatched huts, flowers and trees on it, make the appearance of a small village of the farmer's house, called "shell board". Or soak mung beans, adzuki beans, wheat, etc. in a magnetic bowl, wait for it to grow out of the inch-sized buds, and then tie it into a bunch with red and blue silk ropes, which is called "seeding", also called "five raw pots" or "raw flower pots". Before the festival, a number of plants, such as wheat, mung beans, adzuki beans, peas, etc., are soaked in water in a vessel, and after sprouting a few inches, they are tied up with red and blue colored threads on the day of Qixi Festival, as a symbol of blessing for children. Various images are also made of wax and floated on the water.
7. Worship the stars
The first star of the Big Dipper is called Kuixing, also known as Kuishou. Kui Xing is the god who dominates the rise and fall of articles in ancient Chinese mythology, and in the minds of ancient students, Kui Xing has a supreme position. It is said that July 7 is Kuixing's birthday, Kuixing's literary affairs, and the scholars who want to seek fame especially respect Kuixing, so they worship on the day of Qixi Festival, praying for him to bless themselves with good luck in the examination. In ancient times, the champion among the scholars was called "the corporal of the great kuitian" or "won the championship in one fell swoop", all because the kuixing was in charge of the examination. Scholars in eastern Fujian revere Kuixing, and there is a custom of "worshipping Kuixing" in "Qixi Festival".
8. Worship the Weaver Girl
After worshipping the Weaver Girl on Qixi Festival, after burning incense in front of the desk, everyone sat around the table, eating peanuts and melon seeds while facing the Weaver Girl constellation, silently reciting their own thoughts. For example, girls who want to be beautiful or marry a wishful man, young women who want to have a noble son early, etc., can pray silently to Vega.
Tanabata poems
Autumn Evening
(Tang) Du Mu
Red candle autumn light cold painting screen,
Light Luo small fan fluttering fireflies.
The night of the heavenly steps is as cool as water,
Sit and watch Morning Glory Vega.
"Yukikako · Tanabata"
(Song) Li Qingzhao
The grass is chirping, and the sycamore is falling.
The world is full of sorrow in the heavens.
The clouds and the moon are locked thousands of times.
Float up, float away, don't meet.
Xingqiao magpie driving, after many years.
If you want to leave love, don't hate the poor.
Morning glory and weaver girl, don't be out of the middle.
It was sunny, rainy, and windy.
"Tanabata"
(Tang) Li Shangyin
The fan is obliquely divided,
The starbridge flew back across the magpie.
Fight for the world without a certain time,
In exchange for coming once a year.
"Queqiao Immortal · Trick"
(Song) Qin Guan
The clouds are clever, and the flying stars are hateful,
Silver Han Darkness.
When the golden wind and jade dew meet,
It is victorious, but there are countless people in the world.
Tenderness is like water, the best period is like a dream,
Bear with Gu Queqiao and return home!
If the two love for a long time,
And in the morning and twilight?
"Queqiao Immortal · Tanabata"
(Song) Su Shi
The mountain fairy, high-definition clouds,
Don't learn to be a crazy cow girl.
The sound of the phoenix flute is broken in the moonlight,
Raise your hand to thank you, and people want to go.
Hakka has been committed, the Milky Way waves,
There is still wind and rain in the sky.
Meeting and getting drunk is the leading edge,
Where is the wind and rain dispersed?
Source: People's Daily Online-Communist Party of China News Network, Zhangjiakou