Traditions and Customs of Qixi

1.Spider web and needle shadows

In the Han Dynasty, girls would place a small spider in a small box. The density of the web indicated the skillfulness of a girl.In the Tang Dynasty, the spider was placed on a melon. In the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the shadow of a needle on the water’s surface was the indicator. These tricks are all tests of embroidery skills.

2.Worshiping the Girl Weaver

As for the ceremony worshiping the Girl Weaver, girls and young ladies would make appointments with their friends and neighbors in advance. They would put a table out under the moonlight with tea, white wine, five kinds of seeds and fruits (longan, red dates, hazelnuts, peanuts, and sunflower seeds). In addition,there would be a bunch of flowers wrapped in red paper in a bottle,and in front of the flowers would be a small incense burner. The young ladies and girls would fast for one day and have a bath. After the worship, everyone sat around the table, eating, chattering,and praying silently to the Girl Weaver. The girls wished to be more beautiful or marry a good man, and the young ladies wished to have a baby and a happy family.

3.Making and eating Qiaoguo

Qiaoguo, also named Qiqiao fruit,has many patterns. Its ingredients are oil, flour, sugar, and honey.InReminiscences of the Eastern Capital, a notebook about city life in the Song Dynasty, Qiaoguo is called “Xiaoyan’er” and“Guoshihuayang.” During the Song Dynasty, Qiaoguo could be bought in the market.

Cooking method: first, heat the sugar into liquid; mix it with the flour, and add the sesame;properly mix them in and spread the dough on the chopping board.When it is cold, cut the dough into long cubes, and shape it into a fusiform. Finally fry it in the pot, and then the Qiaoguo is made. Fried flour-made dough in a variety of shapes are also known as Qiaoguo.

In addition, there can be many varieties of fruits presented in the Qiqiao ceremony: the fruits can be carved into flowers and birds or patterned in relief on the fruits’surfaces. These are called flowery fruits.

Nowadays Qixi is regarded as the Chinese Valentine’s Day. On this romantic festival, sweethearts present fragrant flowers and express their tender love to each other. Many choose to make proposals to their partners on Qixi.

Regardless of the diverse enrichment of Qixi Festival,the original connotation of this traditional festival will never be forgotten. In 2006, Qixi Festival was listed by the State Council as the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage. There are many celebrating activities held during Qixi throughout China; for instance, the Qiqiao Festivals in Guangzhou and the Longnan area of Gansu Province both have a strong influence in the locality. In various ways,traditional Chinese culture are mixed into modern life and passed down from one generation to another.

七夕應節食物巧果 Qiao Guo, a kind of fried thin paste, is the dim sum for Qixi Festival

七夕習俗

1. 喜蛛應巧、投針驗巧

在漢朝，婦女把一種小蜘蛛放在一小盒中，以其織網疏密為巧拙之征。到唐朝時，則將蜘蛛放在瓜上。至宋元時期，以視水中針影占巧拙。針影細長則巧，散則拙。

2. 拜織女

少女、少婦們預先和朋友或鄰里約好，舉行祭拜織女儀式。于月光下擺一張桌子，上置茶、酒、水果、五子（桂圓、紅棗、榛子、花生、瓜子）等祭品；又有鮮花幾朵，束紅紙，插瓶中，花前置一小香爐。參加祭拜活動的少婦、少女們齋戒一天，沐浴停當，于案前焚香禮拜后，大家圍坐桌前，吃花生、瓜子，朝著織女星默禱。少女們希望長得漂亮或嫁個如意郎君，少婦們則希望早生貴子、家庭和睦。

3. 食巧果

巧果又名“乞巧果子”，款式很多。主要原料是油、面、糖、蜜。《東京夢華錄》中稱之為“笑厭兒”、“果食花樣”。宋朝時，街市上已有七夕巧果出售。

巧果的做法是：先將白糖化成糖水，和入面粉中，加入芝麻，拌勻后攤在案上搟薄，攤涼后用刀切為長方塊，最后折為梭形巧果胚，入熱油炸至金黃即成。或是用面粉制作各種小型物品，放到油鍋里煎炸后，也稱“巧果”。

此外，乞巧時所用瓜果也有多種變化：或將瓜果雕成奇花異鳥，或在瓜皮表面浮雕圖案。此種瓜果稱為“花瓜”。

在現代中國，七夕被視為中國人的“情人節”。七夕節被賦予了更多浪漫氣息，戀人們贈送鮮花、互表真情，還有許多情侶選在七夕這天向戀人求婚。

不管七夕節如何發展，我們不會忘記這一傳統節日的最初模樣。2006年，七夕節被國務院列入第一批國家級非物質文化遺產名錄。中國各地，亦有許多獨特的慶祝活動，如廣州和甘肅隴南地區的乞巧節都在當地形成了較大影響。由此，傳統中華文化融入當代生活，繼續代代相傳。