What's the saying on the 28th day of the first month?

The 28th day of the first month is the Ancient Painting Festival, also known as Cotton Birthday.

In northern China, there is a saying that the 28th day of the first month is the birthday of cotton, which is a traditional agricultural festival for the Han people in Tieling, Liaoning. It is said that this day is cotton's birthday.

The local Han people held a celebration ceremony to predict the cotton harvest that year. The practice at that time was to throw the Jing basket on the house. After settlement, if the basket mouth is up, it means the cotton harvest in that year, and if the basket mouth is down, it means the cotton harvest in that year. As the saying goes, "Don't collect flowers, watch the 28th day of the first month".

The origin of ancient painting festival

Many people may not be familiar with Huagu Festival, or even have never heard of it. Legend has it that the north of China is barren everywhere. One night on the 28th day of the first month, a fairy landed on a wasteland. She built a house with cotton firewood that night.

The next day, people found a beautiful girl busy, and soon a young woman from a nearby village visited her. When she saw the girl wearing beautiful clothes, she knew it was made of cotton yarn. So everyone turned to the girl for advice. The girl teaches people to grow cotton. After the cotton is harvested, she teaches people to spin. This girl became a local cotton textile teacher, and people respectfully called her "ancient painting". Later, people designated the 28th day of the first month as the "Ancient Painting Festival".