七夕快乐 ❤Happy Chinese Valentine's Day❤

The Qixi Festival ， also known as the Qiqiao Festival , is a Chinese festival celebrating the annual meeting of Zhinü and Niulang in Chinese mythology. The festival is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh lunisolar month on the Lunar calendar.

The festival was derived from worship of natural astrology. It is called "Qixi Festival" because of the traditional worship of the seventh elder sister on the occasion of her birthday, held on the seventh night of the seventh lunar month. Gradually, people celebrated for the romantic legend of two lovers, Zhinü and Niulang, who were the weaver girl and the cowherd, respectively. The tale of The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl has been celebrated in the Qixi Festival since the Han dynasty.The earliest-known reference to this famous myth dates back to over 2600 years ago, which was told in a poem from the Classic of Poetry.

The festival has variously been called the Double Seventh Festival, the Chinese Valentine's Day, the Night of Sevens, or the Magpie Festival.

"The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" is a romantic Chinese folk tale. The story tells of the romance between Zhinü ,the weaver girl, symbolizing the star Vega) and Niulang, the cowherd, symbolizing the star Altair).Their love was not allowed, and thus they were banished to opposite sides of the heavenly river (symbolizing the Milky Way). Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, a flock of magpies would form a bridge to reunite the lovers for a single day. Though there are many variations of the story, the earliest-known reference to this famous myth dates back to a poem from the Classic of Poetry from over 2600 years ago.

"The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" originated from people’s worship of natural celestial phenomena, and later developed into the Qixi Festival since the Han Dynasty.It has also been celebrated as the Tanabata festival in Japan and the Chilseok festival in Korea. In ancient times, women would make wishes to the stars of Vega and Altair in the sky during the festival, hoping to have a wise mind, dexterous hand (in embroidery and other household tasks), and a good marriage.

References

1.The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cowherd_and_the_Weaver_Girl

2. Raitisoja, Geni. "Story of Qixi Festival". GBTIMES. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2018.