Qixi Festival, also known as Qiqiao Festival, Seven Sisters Festival, Daughter's Festival, Qiqiao Festival, etc., is a traditional Chinese folk festival. The Qixi Festival originated in the Han Dynasty and was popular in the Tang and Song dynasties, lasting for more than 2,000 years. The Qixi Festival evolved from the worship of the stars, which is the birthday of the Seven Sisters in the traditional sense, and is named "Qixi Festival" because the worship of the "Seven Sisters" is held on the evening of July 7.
There are various theories about the origin of the Qixi Festival, the most widely circulated of which is the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. According to the "Xijing Miscellaneous Records", in the Han Dynasty, there was already a Xi custom of meeting at the Qixi Magpie Bridge. In ancient times, people believed that the Weaver Girl was a fairy who weaved cloud brocade, so the day of Qixi Festival was set as the "Brocade Day" of the Vega Star. The Cowherd is an ordinary man, he fell in love with the Weaver Girl secretly hiding in her suitcase, in order to prevent her from running around, the Cowherd hugged the Weaver Girl tightly. Unexpectedly, this hug let the gods know, and immediately sent the generals to bring the Weaver Girl back to the heavenly court. Since then, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl have been separated by the Milky Way. Due to the steadfast love of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl and the various legends and sustenance on the day of Qixi Festival, Qixi Festival has become the most romantic Valentine's Day. In the Song Dynasty, Qixi Festival was also known as the "Daughter's Festival" and was a women's festival. On this day, women will thread needles and beg for a happy marriage. Qin Guan, a scholar in the Song Dynasty, has a widely circulated poem "Queqiao Immortal", which describes the romance and beauty of the Qixi Festival.
Qin Guan "Queqiao Immortal. Slim Cloud Trick".
The clouds are clever, the flying stars spread hatred, and the silver man is dark. As soon as the golden wind and jade dew meet, they will win countless in the world.
Tenderness is like water, the best period is like a dream, and you can endure the return of the Magpie Bridge. If the two love for a long time, how can it be in the morning and twilight?
In addition, there is also a view that the origin of the Qixi Festival is related to the worship of time by the ancients. The first star of the Big Dipper is called Kuixing, also known as Kuishou. Later, with the imperial examination system, the champion was called "Da Kui Tian Corporal", and the scholars called Qixi "Kui Xing Festival", also known as "Book Festival", maintaining the traces of the earliest Qixi ** in the worship of the stars. Either way, it is inseparable from the beautiful legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. Qixi Festival is not only a festival to worship the Seven Sisters, but also a festival of love, is a comprehensive festival with the folklore of "Cowherd and Weaver Girl" as the carrier, with the theme of praying, begging and love, and with women as the main body. The "Cowherd and Weaver Girl" of Qixi Festival ** in people's worship of natural celestial phenomena, in ancient times, people corresponded to each other in astronomical star areas and geographical regions, and this correspondence is called "dividing stars" in terms of astronomy, and in terms of geography, it is called "dividing fields". On May 20, 2006, the Qixi Festival was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list by the People's Republic of China.
Qixi Festival, now more and more people regard it as "Chinese Valentine's Day", in fact, it is not directly related to Western Valentine's Day. The Qixi Festival is mainly to commemorate the love legend of Vega and Cowherd, and it also has the meaning of praying for wisdom and skill improvement. During this festival, people beg Vega for wisdom and skills, hoping that they will become smarter and more dexterous. Valentine's Day is a Western holiday that originated from the Valentine Day in ancient Rome. The festival commemorates a **religious saint named Valentine, who was imprisoned for disobeying the emperor's orders, but who still held on to his faith and met his lover in prison. To commemorate this love story, people celebrate February 14 as Valentine's Day. To put it simply, Qixi Festival is a traditional Chinese festival, while Valentine's Day is a Western holiday.
In addition to the Qixi Festival, there are many traditional Chinese festivals, including the Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Dragon Raising Head, Shangwei Festival, Cold Food Festival, Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Qixi Festival, Zhongyuan Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Chongyang Festival, Xia Yuan Festival, Winter Solstice Festival, Chinese New Year's Eve, etc. Some of these festivals are celebrated according to the lunar months, such as the Spring Festival, Dragon Raising Head, Shangwei Festival, Cold Food Festival, Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Qixi Festival, Zhongyuan Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Chongyang Festival, Xia Yuan Festival, etc., while others are celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar dates, such as the Winter Solstice Festival and Chinese New Year's Eve.
These traditional festivals have rich cultural connotations and historical backgrounds, and are an important part of Chinese culture. For example, the Spring Festival is the most important and lively festival in traditional Chinese festivals, with a long history, which evolved from the first prayer sacrifice of the year in ancient times. During the Spring Festival, people will carry out many celebrations, such as pasting Spring Festival couplets, hanging lanterns, setting off firecrackers, viewing lanterns, eating reunion dinners, etc. Other festivals also have their own celebrations and meanings, such as the Lantern Festival is the first important festival after the Spring Festival, people will eat Lantern Festival, enjoy lanterns, guess lantern riddles, etc.;The Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate Qu Yuan, and people will eat zongzi, race dragon boats, hang wormwood, etc. Traditional Chinese festivals are rich and colorful, and each festival has a profound historical and cultural connotation. These festivals are not only an indispensable and important part of people's lives, but also an important way to inherit and promote the culture of the Chinese nation.