Double Seventh Festival
Thing Chinese Do in Double Seventh Festival – Chinese Folklore
1. Doing Needlework
A girl will be more attractive to a suitor if she has talents of one kind or another in addition to being beautiful. In the past, needlework was necessary as part of a girl’s dowry. Since the Weaver Girl is also an excellent seamstress, on the double seventh in ancient China, girls would hold weaving and needlework competitions to see who has the best hands and the brightest mind, both prerequisites for making a good wife and mother at that time.
2. Overhearing the Girl Crying
In the evening of that day, people sat outdoors to observe the stars. Chinese grannies would say that, if you stood under a grapevine, you could probably overhear the Weaving Maid and the Cowherd’s conversation. If you were lucky enough, they would go on telling you, you could hear the crying of the Weaver Girl.
3. Paying Tributes to the Weaver Girl
Girls would also put up colorful “shrines” made of paper, fresh fruit, flowers, and incense as a tribute to the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd. In some parts of Shandong Province, young women would offer fruit and pastries to pray for a bright mind. If spiders were seen weaving web s on sacrificial objects, it was believed the Weaver Girl was giving a reply to the prayers.
Origin of Double Seventh Festival – Chinese Folklore
Actually, in ancient China, Qixi was not only a special day for lovers, but also for girls. As early as the Han Dynasty, girls began to celebrate the Double Seventh Festival in China. What was behind their celebration was their desire for the mastery of knitting, cooking and home making, each of which was a must to be a fair lady at that time.
As a result, girls would make tables, light candles, and present fruits in their courtyard in the hope of being blessed with these skills from the Weaver Girl. So the festival is also known as “The festival to Pleased for Skills”. Although later the festival became associated with a love story, these activities survived.
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