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.