The origin of begging festival

Begging for Qiao Festival, also known as China Valentine's Day, is a traditional festival in China, which falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month every year. Valentine's Day in China began in the Han Dynasty in China. 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, clever and clever fairy. That night, ordinary women begged her for wisdom and skillful skills, and also prayed for a happy marriage. According to legend, on the night of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, women begged the Weaver Maid for wisdom and cleverness 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. Many customs of women in China on Valentine's Day, such as needlework, praying for reed hands, praying for Seven Sisters, showing flowers and fruits, needlework, etc., have influenced countries with Chinese character cultural circles such as Japan, Korean Peninsula and Viet Nam.

The origin of Begging for Cleverness Festival:

Legend has it that in ancient times there was a kind young man named Cowherd. His parents died young and were often bullied by his brother and sister-in-law. They didn't even get a penny of their property. What they left him was an old cow, but this old cow was no ordinary cow. It was changed by the Taurus in the sky. Because he broke the dogma, he was demoted to the mortal world by the jade emperor. It saw the kind cowherd being bullied by others and decided to help him. One day, it suddenly told the cowherd that there was a lake at the foot of the mountain in the east. Every day, seven fairies go to the lake to take a bath. As long as the cowherd steals a dress, the fairy will become his wife. The cowherd listened to the old cow and secretly hid a fairy's dress. When the fairies returned to the Heavenly Palace after bathing, the youngest weaver girl found her clothes missing and began to cry. At this time, the Cowherd appeared with her clothes and asked the Weaver Girl to promise to be his wife and then give it back to her. Seeing that the Cowherd was honest, the Weaver Girl agreed. They got married, gave birth to a pair of children, and lived happily, but the old cow died. After the news that the Weaver Girl married the Cowherd returned to heaven, the Jade Emperor was furious and sent the Empress Dowager to take the Weaver Girl back. In order to find the Weaver Girl, the Cowherd remembered the advice of the old cow, put on cowhide, and caught up with them by the magical power of cowhide. At this time, the queen mother was in a hurry, pulled off the hair clasp on her head and rowed into the air! Immediately, a choppy Tianhe appeared, separating the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. Cowherd and a pair of children were crying by the river. Their affection moved the Jade Emperor, so they were pardoned and met once a year on July 7th. So every year on Tanabata, countless magpies fly to the sky and build a magpie bridge to let the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl cross the river, saying that it will rain on Tanabata night. This is when the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet again and cry with joy. ...

China's Valentine's Day custom festival culture has a profound cultural foundation in China. Due to the differences of regional culture, the content of the same Qixi festival is also different, showing rich and colorful characteristics.

Tanabata Festival custom

Jiaodong area:

In Jiaodong area, more people worship Seven Sisters on Tanabata. Young women put on new clothes, got together, tied the knot for Seven Sisters in the court, and sang songs: "Yellow Emperor, I invited Seven Sisters to heaven. I don't want to draw your needle, I don't want to draw your line, I want to show you 72 good means. " In many places, "Qiao Hua" has also been made. Girls use flour to make cakes, and steamed buns (or appropriate fruits) use flowers, such as peony, lotus, plum blossom, orchid and chrysanthemum. There are also clever dishes, that is, malt is cultivated with a small handleless wine cup (this is the "breeding" in the Song Dynasty), and appropriate fruits and clever dishes are used to sacrifice to the weaver girl.

Fujian:

In Fujian, women and girls set up incense burners and various sacrifices: tea, wine, vase flower arrangement, Wuzi (longan, red dates, hazelnuts, peanuts and melon seeds) and the powder of Weaver Girl. After worshipping the Double Star, the powder for the Weaver Girl was divided into two parts, half of which was thrown on the roof for the Weaver Girl, and the other half was dressed and beautified by herself. According to legend, the weaver girl can keep her beautiful appearance by using powder. And the decoration of Wuzi means seeking fertility. Women also drink tea, eat fruit and play chess.

Shaanxi:

In Shaanxi, on the night of Qixi, the girls will tie the straw into the shape of an "ancient bridge" more than one meter high (also called Qiao Niangniang, that is, the weaver girl), and let her put on the girl's green coat and red dress and sit in the yard; The girl presents melons and fruits, takes out the pre-planted bean sprouts and onion buds (that is, "seeds", which women call clever buds), cuts a piece, puts it in a bowl of clear water, floats on the water, and watches the bud shadow under the moon, which is a clever divination; However, the competition is fast and slow; Hold a window competition to compete for ingenuity.