Mandarin Go | Chinese Valentine

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Do you know  Chinese Valentine’s Day? Its Chinese name is 七夕节（Qīxī Jié）, or Double Seventh Festival, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, is a traditional festival full of romance.

The festival is in mid-summer when the weather is hot and the grass and trees show their luxurious green. At night, when the sky is dotted with stars, people can see the Milky Way spanning from the north to the south. On each bank of it there is a bright star which looks at each other from afar. One of the stars is thought to be the Weaver Maid and the other the Cowherd. There is a beautiful love story about them passed down from generation to generation.

Long, long ago, there was an honest and kind-hearted fellow named 牛郎Niulang(Cowherd) who led a miserable life. He had only one companion-an old ox. One day, a fairy named 织女Zhinü (Weaver Maid) fell in love with him and came down secretly to Earth and married him. The Cowherd farmed in the field and the Weaver Maid wove at home. They lived a happy life and gave birth to a boy and a girl. Unfortunately, the Empress of Heaven discovered their union and ordered the troops from Heaven to take the Weaver Maid back.

With the help of his ox, the Cowherd flew to Heaven with his son and daughter. At the time when he was about to catch up with his wife, the Empress of Heaven took off one of her gold hairpins and drew a line with it in the air. Immediately a celestial river appeared in the sky. The Cowherd and Weaver Maid were separated by the river forever and could only shed their tears. Their love moved magpies, so tens of thousands of them came to build a bridge for them to meet each other. The Empress of Heaven was eventually moved and allowed them to meet each year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. Hence, their meeting date has been called qixi (the evening of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month).

Although today some traditional customs are still observed in rural areas of China, many have been weakened of diluted in cities. However, the legend of the Cowherd and Weaver Maid has taken root in the hearts of people. And the seventh day of the seventh lunar month has been regarded as Chinese Valentine’s Day.