What is the ceremony to worship Qi Niang's mother?

The famous Weaver Girl is honored as the Queen of Seven Stars in religious worship. And she and six other sisters, that is, the seven fairies, will bless the children under the age of 0/6 in the world to grow up smoothly.

They are the patron saint of children, and the folk call the seven fairies who protect children "Seven Mothers" as honorifics. In Quanzhou, Taiwan Province Province and the coastal areas of South China, there is a custom of worshipping Qiniang Horse.

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is Qi's birthday every year. On this night, people with children at home will worship the Year of the Horse at the door and pray for the safe growth of their children.

First, please burn incense, and then prepare offerings. Soft dumpling sacrifice is made of glutinous rice, similar to glutinous rice balls, with a concave hole pressed with your finger in the middle. Because the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl only meet once a year, it is inevitable that they will be sad, so affectionate believers will press the glutinous rice balls symbolizing "family reunion" into a concave hole and put tears in them. There is also chicken wine and oil rice, that is, glutinous rice, sesame oil, rice cooked with wine and chicken, and fruit.

Fragrant flower offerings include round flowers, cockscomb flowers, jasmine flowers, impatiens and so on. One is rich in seeds and the other is fragrant, that is, taking more seeds and fragrant. A basin of water, a new towel, which means everyone should wash their hands and faces, as well as convex powder, rouge, red yarn and so on.

In addition, there are gold paper, longevity gold, gold cutting, candles and so on. Yes, the ritual of sacrifice is the same as that of general sacrifice. Worship in front of the door or in the courtyard at dusk. After the sacrifice, throw some flowers, pink and red gauze on the roof for Qi's makeup, and keep some for herself, which means she can become as clever and beautiful as Qi.

After paying homage to Qi Niang's mother, we should also prepare a chicken, wine, oil, rice and soft rice, pay homage to the "bed mother" at the bedside and light three sticks of incense, thanking and praying for the bed mother to bless the children to sleep and eat well.

After the prayer, put the incense in a safe place in the gap, wait for a moment, hold the "bed mother's clothes" for worship, and burn them after the bed mother's inspection is completed to complete the ceremony.

Although this custom has a certain superstitious color, it reflects people's good wishes for children's health and safety from one side.