Autumn through its hues and festivals

2018-09-25                 Source:ChinaCulture

LI MIN/CHINA DAILY

The span of autumn, according to the lunar calendar, is from July to September. For most of its 5,000-year history, China has been an agricultural society, with autumn generally being the harvest season, between a busy summer and a slack winter.

In the past, farmers used the lunar calendar to plan their production cycle. But despite its name, the lunar calendar is divided into 24 solar terms, which reflect the changes of not only the climate but also agricultural activities, including animal husbandry. The six solar terms in autumn signal the coming of autumn, end of high temperatures, onset of white dews, the autumn equinox, the beginning of cold dews, and hoarfrost.

Five traditional Chinese festivals are celebrated in autumn. In chronological order on the lunar calendar, they are Liqiu Festival (or autumn heralding festival) in late June or early July, Qixi Festival on July 7 (Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day), Ghost Festival on July 15(similar to All Saints' Day), Mid-Autumn Day on Aug 15, and Chongyang Festival on Sept 9 (or Senior Citizens' Festival).

A little knowledge about the festivals in autumn and the customs associated with them will help one to better understand the correlations between climate and civilization, and offer insights into Chinese culture and history.

Liqiu Festival

The festival dates back to the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC). Legend has it that a Zhou emperor went hunting with his senior officials on the day. This practice was adopted by the ruling dynasties that followed.

Although the festival is known today more for its solar term, many people still observe some customs associated with it, such as eating watermelon, muskmelon and corn (or "bite autumn") and braised meat (or "put on fat for autumn").

Qixi Festival

People pay tribute to celestial phenomena to mark the festival. Altair, or the star of Niu Lang (cowboy), and Vega, or the star of Zhi Nv (female weaver), are the closest to each other on July 7 on the lunar calendar. People believe this to be a once-a-year date for the two lovers, so they call the festival Chinese Valentines' Day, which is also observed in some parts of East and Southeast Asia.

The earliest record of the festival goes back to the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220). In ancient times, Chinese people believed Jan 1, Feb 2, March 3, May 5, June 6, July 7 and Sept 9 on the lunar calendar to be auspicious days, the days when Earth (meaning people) and Heaven communicate with each other. People also believed the sun and the moon, along with Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars and Saturn were the "seven luminaries". As a result, seven became a magic and auspicious number.

According to traditional Chinese medicine theory, a man's life is measured in eight-year cycles and a woman's in seven-year cycles. A lot of physical changes take place in men and women every eight and every seven years, respectively.

So, many closely relate Qixi Festival, or double seven day (July 7 on the lunar calendar), with women. The most important custom associated with the day is qiqiao, or begging a deity for dexterity and happiness. Young women offer fresh fruits as oblations to the moon, asking Zhi Nv to bless them with a happy life, ideal lover and a pair of skillful hands.

The festival was also called Qiqiao Festival in ancient times, and is probably the only festival specifically for women.

A day to dress up

In some parts of Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangdong provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, women wash their hair, paint their fingernails and put on makeup on the day, reflecting the great importance they attach to the festival and their longing for a happy and beautiful life.

In Zhejiang and Hunan provinces, some women wash their hair with water boiled with cypress leaves and peach twigs on the day, as they believe water so prepared has divine properties which can purify their spirit and thus help them seek the protection and blessings of Zhi Nv.

In the northern part of Shaanxi province, women make delicate scarecrow with handmade clothes, to which they offer fruits, and make paper-cuts to decorate the windows on the day. They regard the entire exercise as a test of their skills, even as a competition.

In some places of Fujian and Taiwan, where the main means of men's livelihood is fishing, the women celebrate the festival more as a children's day, because they see their happiness and future in their children, as the man of the house might not return from his fishing trip.

Preparing sweet snacks with some local specialties, offered first as oblation to Zhi Nv, has become a custom, as the local residents believe desserts are the goddess' favorite food.

Yet with the passage of time, particularly because women have become increasingly independent, socially, professionally and financially, the festival has lost much of its traditional color. It has basically evolved into a day for lovers to pour out their hearts to each other, and go shopping.