Tanabata is Valentine's Day in China, so what is the legend of the origin of Valentine's Day in China?

The traditional festivals in China show the magnificent picture of our national culture, which is rich in content, colorful and contains profound cultural connotations. In China's ancient poems, a considerable number of works are related to festivals, and excellent works overlap. These ancient poems record the characteristics of holiday customs in their unique forms, vividly reflect the scenes and feelings of ancient people when celebrating these traditional festivals, fully tap the significance of traditional festivals, endow them with richer humanistic feelings and enrich the connotation of traditional festivals. Let's take a look at the legend about Qixi.

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is a traditional folk festival in China, also called Beggar's Day.

Cowherd and Weaver Girl is a beautiful legend. Its origin is very early, and it is recorded in the Book of Songs Dadong: "Wei Tian has Han, and there is light in prison; You are a weaver girl, seven times a day; Although it is seven, it is not a newspaper. " There are weaver girls here, but there are no cows and no story factors. According to textual research, Nineteen Ancient Poems "Cowherd and Star" at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty is the earliest work with the theme of Cowherd and Weaving Girl and a relatively complete plot. Cao Pi's Ge Yanxing also has the phrase "Let the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl face each other from a distance".

It is said that after the weaver girl on the east bank of Tianhe married the cowherd in Hexi, the brocade was woven a little slowly. The emperor was furious and drove the weaver girl back, only allowing them to meet on the bridge built by magpies on the seventh night of the seventh lunar month every year. Ying Shao's "Custom Righteousness" in Han Dynasty said: "Weaver crossing the river on Qixi makes magpie a bridge. According to legend, on the seventh day, the magpie's head was knocked over for no reason, because Liang Yi crossed the Weaver Girl. " The story about the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl in the Chronicle of Jingchu Times is more complete and full of myth: "To the east of Tianhe, there is a Weaver Girl, and the son of the Emperor of Heaven also weaves hard work and a brocade every year. God pitied him for being alone and promised to marry a cowherd in Hexi. After getting married, I gave up knitting. The Emperor of Heaven was furious and ordered him to go back to Hedong and meet him once a year. " Another cloud said, "July 7th is the night when Penny and Weaver get together." At this point, this mythical love tragedy story is completed.

What is related to the legend of Cowherd and Weaver Girl is begging for cleverness. The weaver girl in myths and legends is a clever woman in the fairy world in the sky. Legend has it that her delicate hands and dancing golden shuttle can weave rosy clouds. This kind of natural female worker is of course what human women yearn for. The custom of begging for cleverness on Tanabata is, of course, produced from this psychological motivation of the people.