The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is an unusual day. At noon on this day 12, every household went to the river to put a jar of water to store. This jar of water will not change its taste and color all year round. On the seventh day of July of the following year, the old water in the jar will be poured out and the new one will be filled. This situation is repeated year after year.
Why is water so magical on this day? The old man said that on the night of the seventh day of July, fairy girls in the sky would descend to the river to take a bath, so the water on this day was fairy water and would not go bad. Drinking this kind of water is sweet and clear, and it can increase the efficacy when used to boil medicine. Children and adults often have a fever, and most of them drink with Qiqi water and mix medicines.
According to legend, fairies bathe in the river every day and fetch water early. After hiding for several years, the water is very cold and can cure a fever, so everything good is hidden. Sincere, but also quite effective. The above records are all legends about the bathing of fairies and weaver girls on Tanabata, which is the origin of people pumping water and storing water for bathing on Tanabata.
It is believed that the water on Tanabata is holy water, which has a fairy spirit and various magical functions, all because the water has been bathed by fairies. Qu Dajun, a poet in A Qing, wrote in Cantonese: Every July when chickens crow, Guangzhou people draw river water or well water for storage. But the water at night is several kilograms heavier than his water at night. After years of continuous tasting, it is good for treating fever. It is called "holy water" and also called "heavenly sun water". If the chicken sings twice, the water is not.
Xining County Chronicle, written in the tenth year of Qing Daoguang, describes the water cloud of Tanabata: Wugeng draws well water or river water for storage for sake. "Cangwu County Records" said: (Chinese Valentine's Day) Take river water and well water to store an urn, which will not change its taste for a long time. It's called "Gui Xian Lu in the Twenty-fourth Year of the Republic of China". It says: (Tanabata) Draw river water and store it in an urn, which is called "Qi Qi Shui". Yangjiang County Chronicle in the Republic of China said: (Tanabata) At noon, take a new well water and store it for preparing a safe medicine, which will not rot after years and is called "immortal water". In the 20th year of the Republic of China, Luoding Zhi also recorded the Tanabata water cloud: it was the day of drawing water, and it was called "Tiansun Shuisheng" because of the use of acyl sauce and medicinal bait. Tanabata water has the reputation of holy water, Tiansun water, Tiansun holy water, Yinhe water, fairy water, Qiqi water and bimonthly water. Tanabata water is not only different from normal water in name, but also unusual in water quality. Such good water also has magical effects: it has health care and treatment effects of prolonging life and curing fever. People use Tanabata water as medicine bait, and it is also used to make wine, vinegar and sauce. It's really good for people. Such a wonderful tanabata water needs to be drawn as soon as possible. As time goes by, the rooster crows twice, "then the water is not", and it is no longer "Tiansun Water". In Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, the custom of sunbathing in Shui Sheng on Tanabata has evolved into the custom of shampooing. For example, in Hangzhou, Tanabata is called "Shampoo Festival". On this day, women get up early to fetch water from wells or rivers, pick hibiscus leaves, rub them and mix them in water to wash their hair. Zhejiang also has the custom that pots are exposed to the roof. Picking up dew on Qixi night is called "picking up cows and girls' tears". In the morning, women use this dew to scrub their eyes, believing that they can be bright-eyed and white-toothed, as beautiful as a weaver girl.