What folk customs and activities are there on Chinese Valentine’s Day? Introduction to the Origin of the Qixi Festival

What folk customs and activities are there on Chinese Valentine’s Day? Introduction to the Origin of the Qixi Festival
As a traditional Chinese festival, Qixi Festival also has its own customs and activities. So, let’s take a look at what customs and activities are there among the people on Qixi Festival? What are the taboos and precautions in the lunar calendar for July? The special topic on the seventh month of the lunar calendar in 2021 has also provided answers for you. You can click on Shuimo.com to check the seventh month of the lunar calendar in 2021.

What folk customs and activities are there on Chinese Valentine’s Day?

Folk customs and activities of Qixi Festival: Listening to whispers
In some rural areas of Shaoxing, Zhejiang, on the night of the Chinese Valentine's Day, many beautiful girls would secretly hide under the sheds of lush pumpkins. If they could hear the whispers of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl when they met late at night, the girls would be able to obtain a thousand years of everlasting love in the future.
Folk customs and activities of Qixi Festival: Water purification video
The Qiqiao activity in Jiangsu area is to take a bowl of clean water, expose it to the sun, and leave it outdoors overnight. Pick up a thin grass stick and float it in the water, and look at its shadow to determine your skill or clumsiness. There are also many young women who use a small needle to look at the needle's shadow under the water to test their intelligence or stupidity.
Folk customs of the Chinese Valentine's Day: tying a red hair string
Tying a red string is one of the customs of the Qixi Festival. It is said that if there is a sickly child in the family, parents often tie seven knots on the red string and put it around the child's neck on this day, praying that God will bless the child with health and longevity.
Folk customs of Qixi Festival: drying books and clothes
In ancient times, there was a custom of drying books and clothes on the "Qixi" festival, which was said to prevent insects from eating them. It is said that people choose the Qixi Festival to dry books because on July 7th, the sky is wide open and the sunlight is strong, which is the Dragon King's "scale-drying day". People often dry clothes, quilts and the like on this day to prevent them from being eaten by insects. Scholars also often dry books on this day.
Folk customs of the Qixi Festival: Tie the ligature to the Qiaogu
In the Loess Plateau region of Shaanxi, there is also a custom of holding various activities to beg for skills on the night of the Chinese Valentine's Day. Women often tie straw dolls and wear flowery clothes, which are called Qiaogu.

Introduction to the origin of the Qixi Festival

Qixi Festival is a traditional Chinese festival, and its origin is very ancient and has a long history. The emergence of Qixi Festival is the result of thousands of years of development and integration to form a relatively colorful and distinctive festival custom.
For example, during the Western Han Dynasty, all women would pray for blessings on the Qixi Festival. Liu Xin recorded in Xijing Miscellaneous Records: "Daughters of the Han Dynasty often threaded seven-hole needles in the Kaijin Tower on the seventh day of the seventh month, and everyone was accustomed to it."
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, people in the south attached great importance to the Qixi Festival, and the festival ceremonies were very grand. During the Tang Dynasty, the palace had a special "Qiqiao Tower" for concubines and palace women to pray for cleverness from the Seven Star Goddess.
By the Song Dynasty, the Chinese Valentine's Day reached its peak and became a national statutory holiday. Its status among the people naturally rose as well, and it became a national holiday.
On the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar every year, the capital of the Song Dynasty would set up a special market for begging for skills. "Zuiweng Tanlu" records: "On the Qixi Festival, begging for skills items are bought and sold in front of Pan Tower. From the first day of July, the carriages and horses are congested. Three days before the Qixi Festival, the carriages and horses are unable to pass. The traffic is blocked and people cannot get out. The traffic only disperses at night." It is not difficult to see the grand occasion of the Qixi Festival in the Song Dynasty from the records.

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