The origin, legends and customs of the Begging for Qiaojie Festival, and how to celebrate it.

Cowherd and Weaver Girl meet on Tanabata.

Qiqiao Festival is the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, and it is the most romantic "Qixi" among the traditional festivals in China. It is the legendary day when the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet at the Yinhe Magpie Bridge once a year, and it gradually evolved into Valentine's Day in China. Because, every Valentine's Day, lovers always look up at the stars and pray that love will be faithful.

According to astronomical experts, Cowherd and Weaver Girl are folk names. In fact, in astronomy, Cowherd's Chinese name is Hegu II, and Vega is Vega I, two bright stars in Aquila and Lyra respectively. Because these two stars are clearly visible to the naked eye and easy to distinguish, Vega was once one of the navigation marks of Zheng He's voyage to the West in the Ming Dynasty.

According to the astronomical observation and calculation results since 1 9th century, the Altair is about 16 light years away (1light year is about 10 trillion kilometers), the Vega is about 26 light years away, and the distance between the two stars is 16 light years away. Even if the Altair is called the Weaver Girl, it will take 16 years. So they can't meet on July 7th every year.

Why should the seventh day of July be regarded as the legendary day when the cowherd and the weaver girl meet? This is because the ancients thought that "seven" was an auspicious number, which meant perfection. Moreover, on the night of July 7, when the moon approaches the Milky Way, the moon's brilliance can just shine on the Milky Way, which is more convenient for people to watch the stars. If you observe it with an astronomical telescope tonight, you will see dense clusters in the Milky Way. The afterglow of the half moon sprinkled on the Milky Way has become an imaginary "magpie bridge"

It has entered the early autumn season. At about 8 pm, Vega with zero brightness first appeared near the love zenith, and then the first-class Altair appeared in the south. In the suburbs far away from the city lights, citizens looked up at the night sky and were pleasantly surprised to find that there was a white Tianhe (Milky Way) between the two stars, in which the Altair was in the east and the Weaver Girl was in the west. They looked at each other silently, which was quite poetic.

The origin of "Qixi"

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is China people's Valentine's Day. Some people call it Chinese Valentine's Day or Daughter's Day, which is the most important day for a daughter's family. The seventh day of July is called begging for cleverness because it is said that the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl will meet the Tianhe River, and the daughter's family will worship the sky with melons and fruits at night to beg for cleverness from the goddess.

In addition to seeking the skills of the weaver girl, I also seek a clever match in marriage. Therefore, countless sentient men and women in the world will pray for a happy marriage to the stars on this night, in the dead of night.

When it comes to Tanabata, we have to mention the folk love story-Cowherd and Weaver Girl. On Tanabata, they meet once a year and are regarded as a symbol of love by affectionate children. Their love tragedy left a deep impression on everyone in China. So every Tanabata night, many lovers will pray for eternal love in the starry night sky.

There are many versions of the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. The most widely known thing is that it is said that Cowherd's parents died young and were often abused by his elder sister-in-law, only accompanied by an old cow. One day, the old cow gave him a plan to marry the weaver girl. On that day, the beautiful fairies did bathe in the Milky Way and play in the water. Then the cowherd, hiding in the reeds, suddenly ran out and took the clothes of the Weaver Girl. The panicked fairies hurried ashore, dressed and flew away, leaving only the weaver girl. At Cowherd's request, Weaver Girl agreed to be his wife. After marriage, the cowherd and the weaver girl loved each other and lived a very happy life. Weaver girl also gave birth to a son and a daughter to Cowherd. Later, when the old cow was dying, she told the cowherd to keep its skin and put it on for help when it was in trouble. After the old cow died, the couple reluctantly peeled off the cowhide and buried the cow on the hillside.

When the marriage between the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd was known by the Jade Emperor and the Heavenly Queen Mother, they flew into a rage and ordered the gods to take the Weaver Girl back. When the Cowherd was away, the gods took the Weaver Girl. Cowherd didn't see Weaver when he came home, so he quickly put on cowhide and chased after him with two children. On the verge of catching up, the queen mother was in a hurry, tore off the golden hairpin on her head and rowed to the Milky Way. The once shallow Milky Way suddenly turned into a raging sea, and the Cowherd couldn't cross it any more. Since then, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl can only look at each other across the river with tears, forever and ever, and the Jade Emperor and the Empress Dowager can't resist their sincere feelings, allowing them to meet once every July 7th. According to legend, every year on July 7th, the favorite birds on earth will fly to the sky to meet the cowherd and the weaver girl in the Milky Way. In addition, in the dead of night on Tanabata, people can also hear the love story of cowherd and weaver girl in the sky under the grape trellis or other fruit trellis.

Of course, this is just a legend. Begging for Qiao ceremony originated from the original belief of the ancient weaver girl, Sang Shen, and combined with the saying that the cowherd and weaver girl meet on July 7 every year, it has become the folk belief of our Qixi Qiqiao film today.

How do ancestors celebrate Valentine's Day in China?

Under the moon, connect and thread the needle.

In Jiaodong area, there is a custom to worship Seven Sisters. Young women often like to get together in new clothes on Tanabata and get married in Seven Sisters. Some people even sang "Emperor Emperor, I invite seven sisters to heaven. Don't look at your needle, don't look at your thread, look at your seventy-two good means. " They also compete for the title of skillful hands.

Try to move the pointer skillfully.

July 7th is Women's Day. The girl held the water in the jar to the sun, with a needle floating in the middle, and took photos of the shadow in the water to try the trick, resurrect the fruit and compete for "seeking the trick".

Grow smart vegetables and bloom smart flowers.

There are two kinds of activities in Rongcheng, Shandong Province, one is "clever dishes", that is, girls cultivate malt in glasses, and the other is "clever flowers". It is also a kind of food with flowers shaped by girls with flour.

Ligating bean sprouts and green onions of the ancient bridge for divination, skillfully threading and cutting window grilles.

In the Loess Plateau of Shaanxi Province, it is also a custom to hold various begging activities on Tanabata night. Women often have to tie up grass people in flowered clothes, which is called the ancient bridge. They should not only provide melons and fruits, but also plant bean sprouts and shallots. On the night of Qixi, all the women held a bowl of water in their hands, cut bean sprouts and shallots, put them into the water, and used the shadow of the moon to predict the fate of cleverness. They also wear needles and thread to compete. At the same time, there will be activities to cut window grilles.

Water purification, visual verification, skillful and clumsy

Jojo activity in Jiangsu is to take a bowl of clean water and expose it to the sun, and then spend the night outdoors. It is to pick up thin straw sticks and float in the water, all by their shadows. There are also many young women who use small needles to see the shadow of underwater needles to fulfill their wisdom and stupidity. Han people in other areas also use this method to make themselves smart and stupid.

Seek cleverness with spiders.

Zhejiang, Anhui and other places adopt the way of spider begging: put the spider into a small pot or box, and observe the density of its net the next morning to determine whether it is smart. If spiders still weave webs on melons and fruits, it also means the arrival of ingenuity. And how clever it is to store spiders in boxes and wait for the density of nets.

Dew contact

In rural areas of Zhejiang, it is popular to use washbasins to receive dew. Legend has it that the dew on Tanabata is the tears when cowherd and weaver girl meet. If you put it on your eyes and hands, it can make people nearsighted.

Seed search

Having children is an old custom of Valentine's Day in China, and it is actually one of the beliefs. Before the festival, several plants, such as wheat, mung beans, adzuki beans and peas, were put into a vessel to germinate for several inches, and tied up with red and blue harnesses on Tanabata Day as a symbol of blessing to children. It is also necessary to use wax to shape various images and float on the water.

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

Young girls in many areas like to wash their hair with the sap of trees during festivals. It is said that not only young and beautiful, but also unmarried women can find the right husband as soon as possible. Dyeing nails with flowers and plants is also a hobby of most women and children in holiday entertainment, and it is also closely related to reproductive beliefs.

Seven knots of red rope for tanabata storage

There is a custom of storing water on Tanabata in some areas of Guangxi. It is believed that double seven baths can eliminate disasters and diseases. Sick children often tie a red rope into seven knots on this day and wear it around their necks to pray for health and good luck.

Eat smart food

The dietary customs of Valentine's Day in China vary from place to place, which is generally called clever eating. Among them, jiaozi, noodles, avocados, wonton and other foods are used for this festival. To eat cloud noodles, it must be made of dew. Eating it can get a clever meaning. There are also many folk pastry shops that like to make some crisp sweets with the image of Weaver Girl, commonly known as "capable people" and "skillful cakes", and they are also called "sending talented people" when they are sold. This custom has spread in some areas so far.