An Hourglass Reflects the Sense of Ritual in the Qixi Festival
Aug 04, 2022
Qixi Festival, also known as Qiqiao Festival. The Qixi Festival started in ancient times, popularized in the XiHan Dynasty, and flourished in the Song Dynasty. Qixi Festival is a traditional festival in our country. After historical development, Qixi Festival has been endowed with some beautiful love legends and has become a festival symbolizing love. Legend has it that on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet on the Magpie Bridge in the sky. Today, Qixi Festival has become China's Valentine's Day, and couples will give each other small gifts to express their love on this day, or small sand timer objects that their lovers like.
As the most traditional festival of love in China, the Qixi Festival has rich cultural connotations. The Qixi Festival has also been included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. Although today, many customs of the Qixi Festival have gradually disappeared, replaced by gifts such as lipsticks, bags, hour clock sand and various items that girls like. There are many interesting activities on the Qixi Festival in ancient times. In ancient times, girls would wear needles on July 7th to show their knitting skills, in order to pray to be good at sewing and show their ingenuity.
On the night of Qixi Festival, the ancients would sit in the courtyard to see Altair and Vega, which is a traditional folk custom. On the night of Qixi Festival, young girls will also put seasonal fruits prepared in advance, pray to the bright moon, and make sacrifices to the sky. They also hold various begging ceremonies, and pray for a happy marriage.
Although these traditional customs are gradually ignored by people, in order to welcome the Qixi Festival and express our love and wishes for our lovers, we can still choose to express our attention to this festival and our lovers in our own way. Like giving a crystal hourglass to make your lover feel valued. Life needs a sense of ritual, let your lover experience a unique and unforgettable Qixi Festival!
