Seven processes of Qiaoqi Festival in Gansu Province

The seven processes of Gansu Qiaoqi Festival are as follows:

Valentine's Day (Jojo's Day) or Daughter's Day, Women's Day and Ancient Women's Day in China. Traditional festivals popular in Xihe County, Gansu Province are one of the national intangible cultural heritages. The folk custom of Qixi Qiao Qi in Xihe County of Gansu Province appeared in the Han Dynasty. After the development of the Tang and Song Dynasties, it reached its peak in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and it has a history of more than 1000 years.

Folk activities in Xihe and Qiao Qi are rich in content and diverse in forms. They start on the evening of June 30th (the 29th day of the first lunar month) and end on the evening of July 7th, lasting for seven days and eight nights. The whole activity is divided into seven parts: sitting, welcoming, offering, entertaining, giving advice and seeing off.

On June 7, 2008, China Valentine's Day (Qiaoqi Festival) was approved by People's Republic of China (PRC) and the State Council to be included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list, with the project number ⅹ-4.

Historical origin

Valentine's Day in China (the festival of begging for Qiaojie) originated in the Han Dynasty. Ge Hong's Miscellanies of Xijing in the Eastern Jin Dynasty recorded that "women in the Han Dynasty often put seven-hole needles in the building on July 7, and everyone was there". China Valentine's Day in Xihe County, Gansu Province is related to a story about Altair and Vega. On this night, people look at the Milky Way in the distance, and the old man will point out that there is a big star and two small stars, that is, Altair.

He is looking at Vega across the river, with a burden on his shoulder.

Legend has it that the Weaver Girl is the granddaughter of the Emperor of Heaven, weaving clouds and fairy clothes in the Heavenly Palace. Later, she stole the mortal world, fell in love with Cowherd, and gave birth to two children. When the Emperor of Heaven knew this, he was furious and sent a fairy to take his granddaughter back to heaven. The old cow let the cowherd skin and fly to the sky to pursue the weaver girl. The cowherd shouldered the child and separated from the west of Tianhe.

Magpies are deeply moved by their affection.

Every year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, a magpie bridge will be built from Qi Fei to Tianhe, so that they can meet. According to legend, the Weaver Girl is very clever, so on this day, women who admire the cleverness of the Star Girl will sacrifice fruits to the Star God (Weaver Girl or Kuixing God), and then sit together, or pin into the moon for eyesight, or float with a needle to make people clumsy.

Related folk ceremonies include: setting off the Seven Mothers, worshipping the Seven Mothers (the clever girl prayed to the Weaver Girl), eating the Seven Mothers' rice (the clever artist spontaneously organized the Seven Mothers' Banquet), and sending the Seven Mothers away (offering sacrifices and sending them back to Wonderland).

The main activities of Valentine's Day in China

The main activities of Qixi (Qiqiao Festival) are hand-bridging, hemp jumping, praying for water, taking photos and cooking clever meals. Every year from the end of June of the lunar calendar, in Xihe County, unmarried girls are busy and get together to discuss how to spend their special festivals.

Generally speaking, several sisters with good relations initiate activities, and unmarried women in the same village form a "venue" (commonly known as "seven clever venues"). After choosing the venue in Qiao Qi, the girls used their spare time to practice singing "Qiaoqi Song" in menstruation's home with better living conditions.

Every year from June 26th to 29th of the lunar calendar, the girls will welcome "Qiao Niangniang" from the paper shop in the market town. Please be seated, and be sure to cover your face with silk handkerchief, because it is not time to formally meet Joe.