Chinese Valentine’s Day

• The time of this festival

Chinese Valentine’s Day falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. Looking up at the sky this day, you will find the romance is going on in the dark blue.

• The origin of this festival

According to the celestial phenomena, the ancient Chinese people created this love story, and the record can be dated back about 1500 years ago.

 

In the east of the Milky Way, there is the Star Vega that is believed the weaving girl. And in the west side, there is constellation of Aquila that is the cowboy waiting for his wife. The weaving girl is the youngest daughter in the seven of the Queen of the Heaven. Together with her sister, she worked so hard to weave the colorful clouds in the sky, whereas the cowboy led a poor and lonely life with an old ox.

 

One day the cowboy encountered the weaving girl under the direction of his ox. They fell in love with each other at the first sight, and the girl decided to stay with the cowboy on the earth. However, the Queen was annoyed about the couple’s behavior. Seeing his wife flying back to the Heaven under duress, cowboy was heart-broken. As to the weaving girl, she missed her husband too much and the clouds she woven were filled with sadness.

 

Finally, the Queen showed a little mercy allowing them to meet one time a year on the Magpie Bright that across the Sliver River. In fact, the Star Vega and constellation of Aquila do meet each other on 4 August in the sky.

• Traditions of this festival

There are quite a good number of traditions associated with Chinese Valentines Day.

You will find many Chinese girls preparing melons and fruits to offer prayers to Zhi Nu in order to find a better match for them. Some girls even place needles on the water and if the needle does not sink, the girl is believed to be mature enough to find a husband.

 

Lovers go to a match-making temple to pray for a prosperous life ahead. In the evening, they spend their time looking at the stars. People believe that this is the time when Vega and Altair come close. So, this is the best time to witness a beautiful encounter.

The old people of China will also ask you to stand under a grapevine. Then you can hear what Zhi Nu and Niu Lang are conversing to each other.