Have you heard of Chinese Valentine's Day? It falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month in the Chinese calendar. Therefore, the day is also called the Double Seventh Festival or the Qixi Festival1.
There is a very interesting legend behind the festival. The story goes that there was once a good-hearted cowherd named Niulang. His parents died when he was little, so he tried to make a life with only an old ox to keep him company.
One day, the ox suddenly began to speak. He told Niulang. "You are a nice person. If you want to get maried, go to the pond and your wish will come true. "When the man went to the pond, he saw seven goddesses who had come down from Heaven. The youngest was the most beautiful one, whose name was Zhinv. They fell in love with each other and soon they got married. Niulang and Zhinv lived happily for many years and they had two children, a boy and a girl.
When the old ox was about to die, he told Niulang that his hide( 兽皮) could help a man fly up to Heaven, and it should be kept properly for urgent situations after he died. Meanwhile, Emperor in Heaven began to miss Zhinv. One day, he sent the Queen Mother in Heaven to fetch her.
When Niulang came back home from work that day, he saw his children crying. All they could tell him was that an old woman had come to take their mother away. He realized what had happened and immediately took the hide of the old ox and flew off with his children to look for his wife. The Queen Mother in Heaven became angry when she saw Niulang and his children. She slashed across the sky with her hairpin and a wide river was created between them to keep the lovers separated forever.
Since then, Zhinv would weep bitterly. Moved by their love, magpies(喜鹊)would fly here and form a bridge over the river for them to meet. The Emperor and the Queen Mother were also moved by their love, and allowed them to meet once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month。
