The Qixi Festival customs vary across China. People who are in love must prepare roses and chocolates for their significant other. The Qixi Festival is a traditional Chinese festival. So do you know what the customs of the Chinese Valentine's Day are? Next, let’s take a look at the customs of the Chinese Valentine’s Day.
Customs of the Chinese Valentine's Day:
?1. Threading a needle to beg for skillful things
Threading a needle to beg for skillful things is the earliest way of begging for skillful skills, which began in the Han Dynasty and was adopted by later generations. "Xijing Miscellaneous Notes" said: "Han Cai women often wear seven-hole needles in Kaijin Tower on July 7th, and people learn to do it." According to it, in the Han Dynasty, women gathered together on the night of the Chinese Valentine's Day to compete in wearing clothes. According to the custom of needlework, this activity is carried out every year in the palace.
In addition, Zong Mao of the Southern Dynasty's "Jingchu Years' Records" clearly records that "July 7th is the night for the gathering of the Morning Glory and the Weaver Girl", "It is the night when the women of other families make colorful decorations and wear seven-hole needles." , or use gold, silver, and jade stones as needles." It can be seen that this custom has been established as late as the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589 AD), and may even be traced back to the Han Dynasty.
In the custom of begging for skill, the needle is a special festival prop that girls in ancient times must be able to use. It is necessary for making "nvhong", that is, needlework. In ancient times, there were needles specially used for begging for tricks on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. The holes of these "special needles" for begging were larger, and some had more than one hole, with double holes, five holes, seven holes, and some even had "nine holes."
On the night of July 7th, if you can successfully thread the needle, it will be a "good luck". Women compete in needle threading. They tie colorful threads and thread a seven-hole needle. The faster the thread is threaded, the more tricks they beg for. Those who dress slowly are called "losers". The person who "loses luck" must give a gift prepared in advance to the person who wins luck.
?2. Showing books and clothes
According to reports, Sima Yi was quite jealous of Cao Cao because of his high position and power. In order to protect himself at that time, he pretended to be crazy. The disease hides at home. Emperor Wu of Wei was still not at ease, so he sent a confidant named Ling Shi to investigate secretly. It was July 7th, and Sima Yi, who was pretending to be crazy, was also posting books at home. He ordered Shi to go back and report to Emperor Wu of Wei. Emperor Wu of Wei immediately ordered Sima Yi to return to the court to serve, otherwise he would be imprisoned. Sima Yi just obeyed the order and returned to the court. There is another kind of person who, in troubled times, expresses his depression in a dissolute manner. They despise etiquette and oppose current customs. Volume 25 of Liu Yiqing's Shishuoxinyu says that on July 7, everyone was posting books, but only Hao Long ran to lie down in the sun. When people asked him why, he replied: "I post books." On the one hand, this is to despise the custom of posting books, and on the other hand, it is to show off one's inner talents. Showing your belly means showing your books. The custom of drying clothes in the Han Dynasty created opportunities for wealthy families to show off their wealth during the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Ruan Xian, one of the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove", looked down upon this style of work. On July 7, when his neighbor was drying clothes, he saw that the shelves were full of silk and satin, which was dazzling. Ruan Xian calmly picked up a worn-out piece of clothing with a bamboo pole. When someone asked him what he was doing, he said: "It's hard to escape from the vulgarity, let's talk about it!" Judging from these few stories, we know that the Chinese Valentine's Day was the time to post books. , How old is the custom of drying clothes.
?3. Seeking seeds from seeds
In the old days, it was customary to spread a layer of soil on a small wooden board a few days before the Chinese Valentine's Day, sow corn seeds, and let them produce green crops. Tender seedlings, and then put some small huts, flowers and trees on them to make it look like a small village in a farmhouse, called a "shell board", or soak mung beans, adzuki beans, wheat, etc. in a magnetic bowl, and wait until it grows an inch. The buds are then tied into a bunch with red and blue silk ropes, which are called "seeds", also called "five-life pots" or "flower pots". It is also called "Paoqiao" in various parts of the south, and the bean sprouts that grow are called Qiaoya. They even replace the needles with Qiaoya and throw them on the water to beg for Qiao. Various figures are also made of wax, such as the characters in the story of Cowherd and Weaver Girl, or the shapes of vultures, mandarin ducks, and other animals, and placed on the water to float, which is called "floating on water." There are also wax baby dolls that women buy and float at home, thinking they are auspicious for having a child, and they are called "huasheng".
?4. Xi Zhu Ying Qiao
The so-called "Xi Zhu Ying Qiao" means that some melons and fruits are mainly cantaloupe, golden melon, Qiao fruit, peanuts, red dates, etc. . Put it on the fruit pot, which is usually prepared by the adults before threading the needle for skill. After "Threading a Needle and Begging for Skills", everyone opens their eyes to see if there is a "happy spider" spinning a web on the fruit pot. Whoever finds it first will be lucky.
The so-called spider is actually a small spider as big as a grain of rice. It is often seen on some flowers, plants and trees at the turn of summer and autumn. Occasionally, one crawls on people or is found in the house. It is said to be a sign of good things, and it is usually released very carefully, and no one will kill it easily. But it is not easy to find traces of this kind of spider on the fruit pot. Sometimes in order to get the fruits early, one of the children will secretly catch one and put it on the fruit pot. In fact, adults also know that they turned a blind eye and, amidst the cheers of children "discovering" the spider, they distributed fruits and melons to everyone and said: "Eat, eat, every year there will be luck, every year "5. Throwing a needle to test one's skill
Throwing a needle to test one's skill is a variation of the Qixi Festival custom of needlework and begging for skill. It originates from needlework but is different from needlework. , is a popular Chinese Valentine's Day custom in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The so-called test of skill by throwing a needle is to first prepare a basin, place 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 it is enough to mix river water and well water together and pour it into a basin. The basin and water should be left in the open air overnight, and then exposed to the sun the next day, the seventh day of July, and you can "test the trick" at noon or afternoon.
It turns out that after half a day of sunlight, a thin film formed on the surface of the water in the basin. So I took a sewing needle and gently placed it flat on the water. The needle would not sink, and a needle appeared under the water. Shadow, if the needle shadow is a straight line, it means "begging for skill" has failed. If the needle shadow forms various shapes, whether curved, thick at one end, thin at the other, or other shapes, it means "getting skill".
Nowadays, the Qixi Festival has gradually evolved into a Valentine’s Day. On this romantic day, everyone expresses their love for their families.
Happy Chinese Valentine's Day to everyone