It is said that this fake mother's birthday is on Qixi. I call children under the age of six "in the garden" and sell the protection of bed mothers. Therefore, on this day, these boys and girls will offer sacrifices to their bed mothers in their bedrooms, offer chickens, wine, oil and rice, and burn their bedding (gold paper with woodcut clothes patterns) to thank them for protecting their children.
Qiniangma
Tanabata is also another birthday of Shenqi. Like a mother in bed, Qi is the patron saint of children, but they have different legends. Seven Niang is also called "Seven-Star Empress" and "The fairy lady". Some people call the Queen of the Seven Stars the spouse of the Big Dipper, while others think it refers to the seven fairies including the Weaver Girl, also known as the "Seven Fairy Sisters" or "Seven Fairy Sisters". In Taiwan Province Province, temples with seven-star queens as the main gods include Ji 'an Palace in Douliu Town, Yunlin County and Fuji Palace in Taibao Township, Chiayi County. "Mother of Seven Stars" and "Goddess of Heaven" refer specifically to the Weaver Girl. There are seven-star temples in Shuilin Township of Yunlin County and Kailong Palace in Tainan City in Taiwan Province Province, both of which have a history of 100 years.
People who believe in the seven mothers all offer sacrifices at the evening of Qixi. The offerings include soft glutinous rice (a kind of glutinous rice balls with a concave center, which is said to hold tears for the Weaver Girl), round flowers (that is, thousand-day red flowers to pray for more descendants), cockscomb flowers, jasmine flowers, magnolia trees, rouge, white powder, chicken wine and fried rice, sacrificial ceremonies and round mirrors. There is also a paper-tied seven-Niang pavilion, which is also essential. There are people over six years old at home, especially zongzi and noodles. After the sacrificial ceremony, gold paper, Buddhist scriptures (paper printed with clothes) and endless ancient bamboo frames were all burned on the roof. This is called "mother-in-law's room" (mother-in-law, known as the lady of the waterfront palace), which means that the child has grown up. Half of rouge and white powder are thrown on the roof, and the other half is kept for personal use. It is said that it can make the face as beautiful as a weaver girl.
About one year old, children go to the temple to pray for the blessing of the seven mothers or Guanyin and Mazu, and hang them around their necks with ancient money or silver medals and lock cards. Parents also make a wish for their children. If the child can grow up to six years old, go to the temple and make a wish. Since then, every year on Tanabata, parents will take their children to the temple to worship. If there is no temple nearby, they will set up their own incense table at home and put a new red velvet rope in front of the shrine. This is called "changing". When the children are six years old, they will "take off" on Qi's birthday and go to the temple to worship, hoping to thank Qi for protecting them.
There are different legends about the belief of seven mothers in Minnan dialect and Hakka dialect. According to Minnan legend, a woman's sisters sympathized with the Queen Mother for separating the cow from the woman and secretly blessed the two children to grow up safely and healthily. As a result, the statement that Qi is a child protector was exhibited. In order to let God bless their children, parents give them to Qi as adopted sons or daughters, which is called "keepsake".
Hakka people also have the custom of "worshipping Qi", but the reason is completely different: according to legend, there are seven seven-star queens. Since the departure of the Weaver Girl, only six stars are still together. Because there is no fixed temple to offer sacrifices, they are the "idle gods" in this deity, and usually wander in the wild (that is, wander around). According to legend, seven-star mother can catch children, so if her character is low, she will be given a deed to keep her safe.
six
The most grand ceremony was the "six-year-old" at Kailong Palace in Tainan. In Tainan, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, parents will take their children to Kailong Palace to make a wish. "A General History of Taiwan Province Province" Lian Heng: "A wealthy family, with children up to six years old, pasted paper kiosks, offered sacrifices to the Weaver Maid, and erected monuments for adults, relatives and friends. There is also an interesting legend about the origin of Tainan people at the age of six and the economic activities of Wujiaogang. According to Yunxi, there are five mouths in front of Narcissus Palace outside Chengdaximen, Taiwan Province, and the business is booming. Five surnames load and unload ships at the dock, many of them are helped by laborers, and they only get half the salary. So, at the home of local workers, a six-year-old ceremony was held on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, "Seven Mothers Born", asking neighbors to give red turtles and inviting foremen, relatives and friends to celebrate.
On the seventh day of July, Tainan, as a six-year ceremonial instrument, prepared offerings such as sesame-oil chicken wine, noodles, four fruits, five sacrifices, six-color dishes, seven bowls of taro, red turtle, two sugarcane with tails, gold paper, warp thread, and Qiniang Mating. Qiniang Mating is a balcony made of bamboo paper, with three floors, which are respectively affixed with Fu Lushou Quan and Qiniang Mating. If a red turtle is made for a boy, a girl will give her neighbor a pair of turtles. In addition to worship, there is also a ceremony symbolizing children's adulthood: parents stand in front of an altar with a seven-year-old mother pavilion, and children over six crawl between the altar and the seven-year-old mother pavilion. After getting up, boys should turn left three times and girls should turn right three times, which is called "leaving the mother's room" or "leaving the mother's room". The mother bird is said to be the seven-star queen in the sacrificial offerings. "taro" is a special kind, and "eating taro will have a good start" is a good slogan. Some families also provide cigarettes and betel nuts, which are prepared for the "good brothers" who came out of the ghost gate on July 2 1.
In addition to parents making their children six years old, grandma's family should also prepare clothes, shoes, hats, watches, necklaces, bicycles or sewing machines, chickens and ducks. And held a banquet on July 7 to celebrate their grandson's six years old.
Qiqiaohui
According to the official records of Taiwan Province Province, "My daughter, Luo Guazi, wears a needle in the atrium, which is a traditional activity of women in Tainan Fucheng. It is to set up an incense table at night, prepare needle and thread, peanuts, melons and fruits, convex powder and rouge, and worship the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd Star. After the sacrifice, the needle was inserted into the moon, which was interpreted as a clever needle; And throw the convex powder into the sky, and the powder falls on the face, which is a good omen. This activity is painted on the wall of the main hall of Kailong Palace in Tainan.
Tainan Fucheng is famous for embroidery, and all the women specialize in needlework. Therefore, the seventh day of July is another custom, that is, a basin of clean water is in the sun, and the water gradually expands to produce surface tension. Put the needle in the water and observe the shadows under the needle in the basin, such as clouds, flowers and birds, scissors and so on. This is called coincidence; On the contrary, it is as thick as a hammer and tied to a wire, which is called clumsiness. This has something to do with believing in the gods who weave and embroider. At the age of 20, there is a saying of worshipping the Weaver Maid and offering sacrifices to the gods.
Kuixinghui
"County Records of Taiwan Province Province" said: "July 7th is Kuixing's birthday. On that night, schools competed for pigeons to prepare sacrifices, and occasionally performers, especially village schools, slaughtered dogs for sacrifices. " Lian Heng's "General History of Taiwan Province Province" said: "It is a good omen for those who deserve to go home to offer Kuixing and sheep's head as a sacrifice and add red to it to save the Yuan Dynasty. Take the corner of the sheep quilt as the solution, and if the word is yuan, it is also. "
According to legend, Kuixing is the god of literature and fortune, and Kuixing is regarded as the first star of Beidou. Because Kuixing has the first choice and the first meaning, it is good for scholars, and Kuixing is close to Quinn. So Kuixing is commonly known as Kuixing. In fact, Kuixing and Kuixing belong to themselves. Kuixing is one of the 28 stars and is in charge of the article. On the seventh day of July, Kuixing was born, so the literati in Tainan Fucheng held a Kuixing party to celebrate it. This is an interesting game that won fame. That is, longan, hazelnut and peanut, three kinds of round or oval practical dried fruits, representing champion, second place and flower-exploring tripod respectively. Throw one of the three kinds of dried fruits on the table in one hand and roll together. Some dried fruits roll in front of someone and stop. Some people are champions, second place or flowers ... so eat, drink and be merry until everyone becomes famous.
The Kuixing Building has been built in the Confucius Temple in Tainan since the reign of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, which shows that the scholars in Fucheng attach importance to seeking fame.
Printed books
According to legend, it is an ancient custom not to smoke every day. Shi Shuo Xin Yu tells a story about Ren's birthday: "Ruan Rong's infantry lives in the south of Lu, while Ruan people live in the north of Lu. Rich in the north and poor in the south. On July 7th, North Ruansheng was drying clothes, all wearing brocade. Zhong Rong hung a big cloth calf nose in the atrium with a pole, and people might blame it. He replied, "I can't avoid custom, but I can't talk to you." "This is a good story on Tanabata. The ancients cherished books and were afraid of being affected by damp or moth-eaten, so they printed books on Kuixing's birthday to show that they were reading classics and carrying Taoist scriptures and were wary of fear.