How did people in ancient times celebrate the Tanabata Festival? Can women wear costumes and go shopping to catch the temple fair?

The ancient Tanabata festival is actually also called the Beggar's Nest, which translates to a festival of praying for the ability to be handy. In ancient times, it was also a festival in honor of the Cowherd and the Weaving Maiden. Although it was also a day for young men and women to court each other, there were also women who wished to be as skillful as the Weaving Maiden. So in addition to being meaningful to some young couples, this day is actually more like the current Girls' Day, a festival for girls to get together.

The temple fair

In ancient times, women were not allowed to go out, but on Tanabata, they were allowed to go out and have a stroll. That's why the temple fair attracts a lot of women to go out every year on the eve of the seventh day of the seventh month, and it's very likely that they will meet a marriage in the temple fair to guess the riddles, etc. But the rules were different in different dynasties, so it's not easy for them to go out. However, the rules are different in different dynasties, and in some dynasties women are not allowed to go out on Tanabata. That's why some women will sneak out and wander around on the eve of the seventh day of the seventh month.

Worship of the Weaving Maiden

In fact, this day is more important for women, in ancient times, if a woman is clever, then it is very valued, after all, in ancient times that the woman is not talented to virtue, and women's virtue is really necessary to comply with. Therefore, in ancient times, a woman who is proficient in embroidery will be considered very capable, which is the basic skills of women, so that women hope to be as good as the weaver is particularly good at embroidery, in this day will worship the weaver hope to be the same as her.

And on this day, the women would gather together and the day would turn into a party for the women, where they could eat and drink and play many games. One of the games, often seen in movies and TV dramas, is that the girls will use a bowl full of water and carefully put a needle on the surface of the water. If the needle can keep its balance on the surface of the water and does not sink to the bottom of the water, it means that they will be as skillful as the weaver. But if the needle falls to the bottom of the bowl, then you can't do what you want. Although it is a small game, but it also shows that handwork is very important for ancient women.