同妇女及青年男女生活有关的七夕节俗

Double Seventh Festival Customs Concerning Women and the Young

古代七夕节中除各地流行的陈瓜果祀织女和乞巧、卜巧活动,及同农业生产、家庭生活有关的节俗之外,各地还有些只同妇女和青年男女有关的节俗,如姑娘们和青年妇女节前用凤仙花染指甲,治面颊黑痣、黑斑,生眉、生发、黑发,沐浴天孙圣水,提亲问字、下酒定婚,未婚姑娘拜月许愿及丈夫出外者拜月许愿,借供献织女而学习做各种精致面点,妇女清洗厨房炊具,贫穷之家着力于纺织,朝廷织染署举行祭杼仪式等。这些活动同七夕节的基本精神是一致的,是由"牛郎织女"传说中自由婚恋、靠自己的双手创造幸福生活的精神生发出来的,大部分活动也体现出"乞巧"的精神。但所有这一些,都同一些人所说的"情人节"不相一致,七夕文化宣传不能走偏。

In ancient time on Double Seventh Festival there were many prevalent customs such as dis- playing fruits as sacrifices to the Weaving Maid,begging for wisdom and forecasting one's wisdom from the web woven by a spider trapped in a box,and all thesecustoms were related with agricultural production and family life.Besides these,many other customs were related with women and the young,girls and .young ladies dyeing,their nails with jewelweed,trying to get rid of moles .On face, breeding eyebrows and hair,dyeing hair black,bathing in "holy water",proposing marriage and match-making prediction,managing betrothal with such gifts as alcohol,worshiping the moon to make wishes by unmarried girls and the married with husbands being away from home,learning to cook delicate cakes thrqugh sacrifices to the Weaving Maid,women thoroughly cleaning the Kitchen, the poor family focusing on weaving,holding sacrificing rites to looms by governmental depariment of weaving and dyeing,etc.All these activities share the same fundamental spirit,have'derived from the free love and striving for happiness with one's own hands in the legend of the Cowherd and the Wea- ving Maid",and most of them display the spirit of "begging for wisdom".However,all these are quite different from the so-called "Valentine's Day",and the publicity of this very culture should not deviate from its course.