Hunan and Zhejiang Provinces – Women Washing Hair
Women wash their hair on Qixi Festival is also a special custom, on which there are records in Hunan and Zhejiang provinces. In Annuals of Youxian County of Xiangtan Zhejiang province, there is the record, “On July 7, women collect cypress leaves, peach branches to be put into hot water for washing hair.” Famous essay writer Qijun (whose native place being Zhejiang province) mentioned in his essay Ji, that his mother and aunts all washed hair on Qixi Festival. This custom may be related to the belief of holy water on Qixi. People believed that water taken from springs, rivers on Qixi has the same magic powers as that from the Milky Way, the silvery river in heaven. In some places, people directly call this water holy water from the granddaughter of heaven (i.e. the weaver fairy). Consequently, women washing hair on this day has been given special meanings, symbolizing that they have washed their hair by the holy water from the silvery river, so they must be blessed by the weaver fairy.
There is another custom to collect dew with washing basins. It is said that dew on Qixi Festival are the tears from the cowherd and the weaver fairy when they meet each other, so if it is applied to eyes and hands, their eyes would be bright, and their hands would be deft.
Shandong Peninsula – Worshiping the Seventh Fairy
In Shandong Peninsula, people often worship the seventh fairy – the weaver fairy. In this ceremony, young women would dress up in new clothes and assemble in a house to be seven sworn sisters. At the same time, they would sing together, “Heaven is in anxiety, earth is in anxiety, I’d like to invite the seventh sister come down from heaven. I don’t want your needles, and neither your threads, I only expect to learn your seventy-two skills.” In many places, women would make dexterity flowers. Girls would make pony, lotus, plum, orchid, chrysanthemum out of cakes or breads (or called dexterity snacks). The also make dexterity dishes, namely the wheat seedlings grown in wine cups (planting life in Song dynasty). Then, they use dexterity foods and dishes to worship the weaver fairy.
Southwest of China – Dying Fingernails
Dying fingernails on Qixi Festival is a custom prevailed in southwest of China. Annuals of many counties in Sichuan, Guizhou, and Guangdong provinces have these records. In many places, young girls would like to take tree fluids and mix with water to wash their hair. It is said that this can not only make them beautiful, but also help them to find their satisfied husbands. Using flowers and grasses to dye fingernails is also a hobby to most girls and babies, and also closely related with baby delivering beliefs.
(Source: bjchinese.bjedu.cn)
