Worshiping Mohele
Mohele was a baby toy on Qixi Festival in the past, a kind of clay puppet, whose figures was a baby wearing clothes made of lotus leaves with half arms naked, and a lotus leaf in hand. Each year on July 7, in Kaifeng, there were many stands selling Mohele in different streets. Actually, later in Song dynasty, Mohele was no longer small clay puppet, but became more and more delicate. The sizes and postures of Mohele were different, with the largest being three feet high, which were really like living babies. The making materials included ivory and ambergris. The dressing of Mohele was extremely exquisite, some would have balustrades and seats with colored painting and wooden carvings, some had covering case made of cinnabar. The toy in the hand of the puppet was also decorated with gold, jade, and precious stones. Thus a pair of Mohele could be as high as thousands of copper coins.
Worshiping the Weaver Fairy
Worshiping the Weaver Fairy was purely a practice for girls and young women. Usually, they would make an appointment with their friends or neighbors, the number of which could be five to ten, and carried out the ceremony together. During the ceremony, they first put a table under the moon lights, with tea, wine, fruits, longan, red date, hazelnut, peanut, and melon seed, etc. on the table. In addition, a bunch of flowers bound with red paper was inserted into a bottle, with a small incense burner in the front. The girls and young women would fast and bathe on July 7, then came to the home where the ceremony would be held on time. They burnt incense sticks and prayed one after another. Then all of them would sit down around the table eating peanuts and melon seeds, while they were contemplating their own wishes towards the Vega. The girls would often wish more and more beautiful, or be married to satisfied men, while young women would expect to deliver clever kids soon. The ceremony would last until mid-night.
Worshiping Kuixing Star
It is said that it is the birthday of Kuixing star on July 7. Kuixing star is in charge of scholarship, so those scholars who wished to succeed in civil exams would respect Kuixing star very much. Therefore, they would surely worship Kuixing star on Qixi, to pray that it would bless them to excel in exams. Kuixing star, or the god of literature, is one of the 28 constellations. It is the first star among the seven stars in the Big Dipper, also called Kuixing or Kuishou. In the ancient palace examination, the scholar who became the first winner would be called grand winner excelling all of the scholars under heaven, or to be the first winner at a stroke, which both bore Kui in Chinese character as Kuixing star was in charge of examination fate.
According to folklores, Kuixing, the person was extremely ugly when he was alive, with speckles all over face and a crippled leg. Some one had composed a ragged verse to mock him, “Ugly face needs no cosmetics, as it will not cover his spots. Perfection comes when he is married to a pocked girl, as they would be as beautiful as honeycombs. Under his eyebrows are hawk scratches, while besides his mouth and nose are foot marks left by geese on sands. He must have coveted too much sleep under house eaves, as so many plum blossoms have left on his forehead. Your jade toes are the most extravagant, one step high and one step low. Slowly walk you are dancing, dancing you suddenly fall into a hole. Sigh it that roads are all vicious, tired you are tottering. No laugh at your half bent back, beautiful posture you can deliver at any time.
However, this scholar of Kuixing was much diligent and listed high in palace examination. During the imperial audience, the emperor asked why his face was full of specks, and he replied they were the stars in whole heaven. The emperor asked again why he was lamed, he answered that he was the person to jump over the dragon gate with one leg. At these answers, the emperor was very satisfied, and granted he passed the exam.
(Source: bjchinese.bjedu.cn)