Legend of Cowherd and Weaver Girl on Tanabata and Valentine's Day in China

The seventh day of July is Valentine's Day in China, celebrating the annual gathering of cowherd and weaver girl in the sky, also known as Beggar's Day, Daughter's Day and Valentine's Day.

The story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl originates from the worship of the stars and is the product of the deification and personification of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. The prototype of the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl first appeared in the Book of Songs, and then passed down from generation to generation, eventually forming a beautiful and touching fairy tale.

Cowherd is an orphan on the earth. After his parents died, he was often abused by his brother and sister-in-law. Brother and sister-in-law separated from Cowherd, and only one old cow was given to Cowherd. The Weaver Girl is a clever and beautiful seven fairies in the sky, and she is good at knitting. Once she went to the Milky Way to bathe with other fairies. At the sign of the old cow, the cowherd came to the Milky Way and stole the coat of the Weaver Girl. Unable to return to the Heavenly Palace, the Weaver Girl married the Cowherd, gave birth to a son and a daughter, and lived a happy life by farming and weaving. When the Emperor of Heaven knew about it, he flew into a rage and sent heavenly soldiers down to heaven to bring the Weaver Girl back to Heaven. Cowherd was very sad and cried with a pair of children in his arms. Before he died, the old cow told the cowherd that he would put on his own skin after he died, so that he could take his children to heaven to find the Weaver Girl. The cowherd did as the old cow asked. When he came to the sky with his children, he was preparing to catch up with the Weaver Girl. Just then, the queen mother suddenly pulled out the golden hairpin and rowed it. Suddenly there was a rolling Tianhe in the middle. Cowherd and Weaver Girl can only cry across the river. The cries of the Weaver Girl, the Cowherd and their children moved the emperor, who allowed the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl to meet at the Magpie Bridge on July 7th every year. On July 7th, countless magpies set up a magpie bridge on both sides of the Tianhe River, where the cowherd and the weaver girl met. Every Tanabata, everyone will go out to watch the morning glory and Vega meet across the river.

Chinese Valentine's Day; Qixi Festival

Legend has it that the Weaver Girl has a superb skill, not only weaving brocade, but also sewing endless clothes. In order to have a pair of dexterous hands like a weaver girl, the custom of begging skills has been formed among girls. Valentine's Day in China is also called Church Day. On this day, people want to beg for wisdom, that is, to beg for the wisdom and intelligence of the weaver girl. On July 7th, the Weaver Girl reunited with the Cowherd, especially in Jennifer's mood. If she is asked to show her wisdom and exquisite craftsmanship at this time, she will pass on her skills to others without reservation. From then on, people can get rid of clumsiness and seek ingenuity. The custom of begging skills reflects the strong desire of working people to learn labor skills.

There was a lovely custom in the Han Dynasty. In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, women wore seven-hole embroidery needles or used gold, silver and jade as needles to make trouble with old melons and fruits in the court. There was a custom of embroidery in Chang 'an in Tang Dynasty. In Song Dynasty, a folk begging market specialized in begging supplies appeared in Banlou, Tokyo. Xianlou: cut the colored paper into multiple layers; Fairy Bridge: Paper-cut is a bridge with cowherd, weaver girl and fairy attendants; Flower melon: the melon is engraved with patterns; Seeds: Soak mung beans, wheat and adzuki beans in foaming porcelain to grow green buds several inches long and bind them with red and blue stripes. In Tanabata activities, women can not only seek skills from the Weaver Girl, but also seek wealth, longevity, children and courtship from the Weaver Girl according to their different situations and wishes. In many wishes, everyone wants to beg for the same thing, even begging for two or three years is showing sincerity.

Put the needle down, Buyo.

At noon on Tanabata, the yard became a basin of water. Due to the falling dust, a film was formed on the surface of the basin. After oiling the embroidery needle, gently put it on the water. Those who can float are considered to be praying for good luck.

Braided bridge and puncture needle

Weave a bridge with the newly produced wheat straw, and put the knitwear such as cowherd, girl, young man, old cow and magpie on the table. Or use colored paper to cut out the scenery above and stick it on the wall. After the prayer, take seven embroidery needles and colored thread through the pinhole. People who can successfully pass through seven pinholes at the same time are considered to be praying for good luck.

Under the moon, connection, needle and thread

In Jiaodong area, there is a custom to worship Seven Sisters. Young women usually like to wear new clothes on Tanabata and get married in Seven Sisters at the end of the month. Others sang: Your Majesty, I sent Seven Sisters to heaven. Don't think about your needle, don't think about your thread, just look at your 72 good methods. In addition, they also competed to thread needles and won the title of dexterous hands.

Ligation, clever planting of bean sprouts, onions, divination, clever threading, thread cutting and window grilling.

On the Loess Plateau in Shaanxi, there is also the custom of holding various begging activities on Tanabata. Women often dress grass people in gorgeous clothes. This is the so-called ancient bridge. They not only supply melons and fruits, but also plant bean sprouts and green onions. On the night of Tanabata, women cut off bean sprouts and green onions with a bowl of clear water, put them into the water, predicted their smart fate with the shadow of the moon, put on needles, and lined up for a competition. At the same time, we also held activities to cut window grilles better than skilled workers.

Begging for wisdom from spiders.

In Zhejiang, Anhui and other places, people use spiders for cleverness: they put them in Tucki or a small box, and the next morning they find that their net density is wrong. If spiders still take melons and fruits as their webs, it also means the arrival of originality. It is more or less a coincidence to store spiders in a box and wait for the density of the web.

Dew receiving water

In rural Zhejiang, the custom of receiving dew with washbasin is very popular. Legend has it that the dew on Tanabata is the tears when cowherd and weaver girl meet. If applied to eyes and hands, it will make people react quickly.

Wash your hair with sap and dye your nails with flowers.

Young girls in many areas like to wash their hair with wood pulp during festivals. It is said that they can not only be young and beautiful, but also find suitable men for unmarried women as soon as possible. In festivals and entertainment activities, dyeing nails with flowers and plants is also a hobby of most women and children, and it is also closely related to the concept of fertility.

The red waterline on the seventh day in Chinese Valentine's Day

In some areas of Guangxi, there is a custom of storing water on Tanabata, and people believe that taking a bath on the seventh day can eliminate disasters and diseases. On this day, sickly children often tie seven knots with red ropes and wear them around their necks to pray for health and good luck.

Qiqiaoshi

Tanabata is a wonderful food, including jiaozi, noodles, oily fruits, wonton and so on. Eat cloud noodles, this kind of noodles must be made of dew, which can make you feel clever. There are also many folk pastry shops, which like to make crisp candy with the image of Weaver Girl, and are usually called "able man" and "Su Qiao". It is also called a gift for talented people when it is sold. So far, this custom has spread in some areas.

Women's festival

In some places, July 7th is called Women's Day or Daughter's Day. On this day, Henan, Shaanxi and other places have the custom of welcoming women and avoiding festivals. According to the records of pucheng county, Shaanxi Province, July 7th is a time to welcome the new year and avoid festivals. According to local legend, the Weaver Girl is the granddaughter of the emperor, and the unfortunate marriage of the Weaver Girl is caused by the emperor's unwillingness to live with the Cowherd for a long time. On July 7, people will take their newly-married daughter home, lest the emperor find that her daughter and son-in-law have lived together for a long time and separate them like cowherd and weaver girl.