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It was the Weaver Girl who fell in love with the Cowherd, and was discovered by the Queen Mother, so she took the Weaver Girl back to Heaven, and the Cowherd chased after herd, with their two children, and the Queen Mother did not let them chase, so she drew the boundary with a hairpin - the Milky Way, but the Cowherd did not give up, and the Queen Mother was soft-hearted, so they were allowed to meet on the seventh day of July every year, and they cried as soon as they met, so it rained.

The most influential legend of the Qixi Festival is the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, the fairy Weaver Girl went down to earth and married the Cowherd as a wife, and then was discovered by the heavenly court, and the Weaver Girl was taken back to heaven and was not allowed to see the Cowherd again, and then the actions of the two moved the heavens, so they were allowed to meet on the seventh day of the seventh month of the year. And this romantic story comes from Shanxi Province. So what are the customs of the Qixi Festival in Shanxi?

Shanxi Qixi Festival customs.

Worship the Cowherd and Weaver Girl.

According to the plot of the meeting of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl in the sky during the Qixi Festival, Shanxi folk have the custom of celebrating with a statue, that is, a pair of young men and women are tied with branches and other objects at the mouth of the street and alley, representing the meeting of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.

In front of the statue, melons, fruits, peaches and plums were offered to congratulate them. When the stars are brilliant, if you see the white air in the Tianhe, shining with five-colored light, it is considered a sign that the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet.

In the old days, I had to bow down at this moment and beg for the gifts of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. It is said that the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl are the embodiment of hard work, so those who kneel down can ask for agriculture and weave and propose marriage. Seeking gold and silver, seeking huge profits is counterproductive.

The girl begs to the Weaver Girl.

During the Qixi Festival, the girl and daughter-in-law also have many activities to ask the weaver girl for handicrafts, called begging.

In the southern part of Jinnan, it is customary to use the new wheat straw produced in that year to weave a bridge, with cowherd, weaver girl, boy, girl, old cow, magpie and other knitted fabrics, and put them on the desk. Or use colored paper to cut the above scenes and paste them on the wall.

After praying, take seven embroidery needles and thread them with colored threads, and those who can successfully pass through seven needles at once are considered to be lucky.

In Quwo County, boys and girls are popular with star grass and incense festivals.

In the northern part of Shanxi, it is customary to dry a basin of water in the courtyard during the day, and a thin film is formed on the surface of the basin water due to the fine dust falling. After the embroidery needle is oiled, it is gently placed on the surface of the water, and those who can float are considered to be beggars.

In the northwest region of Shanxi Province, bean sprouts are placed in the basin water, and the bean sprouts that are born before the festival are placed on the water surface. Tan Jian refers to the reflection of the bottom of the water under the sunlight, through the refraction of the basin water, or centipedes, or water snakes, or water dogs, and chickens. The more complex and realistic the reflection, the more clever the metaphor is.

Girls in the southeast of Shanxi Province want to catch a silk spider and circle it in a box during the Qixi Festival. The next day, observe the dense webs of the spiders, and the denser they are, the more clever they are.

The boy worked on his skills.

In the southern Jinnan area, it is customary to cover the soil on the wooden board or stone slab, make a small scene of the thatched house on the soil, and make a pastoral garden next to the house. Millet seedlings are planted in the field, which is called a grain slab.

It is customary to soak wheat and various beans in water in northern Shanxi Province to promote their germination. On the Qixi Festival, the buds are wrapped with colored threads, which is called seeding.

The shepherd boy in the northwest of Shanxi Province should weave a wreath for the ploughing cow, which is called the birthday of the old cow.

It is rumored in the southeast of Jin that in the dead of night, lying under the grape trellis, secretly listening to the cowherd and the weaver girl whispering. During the Qixi Festival, the folk like to use white flour or cake noodles to add oil, sugar, and honey to make various candies, which is called Qiaoshi. In Shanxi, every family wants to eat watermelon, and likes to carve patterns on watermelons, which are called flower melons.

Fighting skill, begging for marriage, swimming in the water of the seventh sister, planting and begging for children, celebrating the birthday of the cow, etc.

1. Douqiao: Qixi Douqiao, the "Bu Qiao" method for judging the clumsiness of the Douqiao mainly includes several forms such as "Needle Begging", "Spider Wishing", "Needle Piercing Moon", "Losing Qiao", "Lanye Douqiao" and "Needle Testing".

2. Begging for marriage: On a clear summer and autumn night, the stars are shining in the sky, and a Milky Way runs through the north and south, and there is a shining star on the east and west banks of the Milky Way. Wu actress later evolved into a mythical goddess, known as the seventh sister, Tianxian Niangniang, Qi Niang Ma, etc., is the protector of weaving clouds, couples, women, and children.

Xinglu Qi, countless sentient men and women in the world will pray to the weaver girl for a happy marriage in front of the stars on the night of Qixi Festival.

3. Swim the Seven Sisters Water: Folklore has it that the seven fairies in the sky will go down to the river to bathe in the Qixi Festival. In Guangxi Baise, Jingxi and other folk believe that the water on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month is very holy and clean, and the water of Qixi Festival can not only drive away evil spirits and avoid diseases, but also make them happy in love and happy in life.

This custom is related to the legend of the local seven fairies who went down to the earth to bathe.

4. Seed life and seek children: Han festival customs, a few days before the Chinese Valentine's Day, first put a layer of soil on the small wooden board, sow the seeds of the kernel corn, let it give birth to green and tender seedlings, and then put some small thatched huts, flowers and trees on it, make the appearance of a small village in the field, called "shell board", or soak mung beans, adzuki beans, wheat, etc. in a magnetic bowl, wait for it to grow a bud of the inch, and then tie it into a bunch with red and blue silk ropes, which is called "seeding", also called "five pots" or "flower pots".

5. Celebrate the birthday of the cow: In the old days, children would pick wild flowers and hang them on the horns on the day of the Chinese Valentine's Day, which was also called "congratulating the cow's birthday". Because legend has it that after the Queen Mother of the West used the Tianhe to separate the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, Lao Niu asked the Cowherd to cut off his skin and drive its cowhide to meet the Weaver Girl in order to let the Cowherd cross the Tianhe River.

In order to commemorate the sacrificial spirit of the old cow, people have the custom of "celebrating the birthday of the cow".

We all know the love story of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl on the Qixi Festival, but we don't know what customs and habits this festival has, so what are its customs and habits?

Also known as the Begging Festival, it means that young girls compete together to thread needles and threads and make some embroidery.