Qi Qiao Jie

[david_dawei]

http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/77a.htm

 

The Love Story

 

Chinese Valentine's Day is on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month in the Chinese calendar. A love story for this day is about the 7th daughter of Emperor of Heaven and an orphaned cowherd. The Emperor separated them. The 7th daughter was forced to move to the star Vega and the cowherd moved to the star Altair. They are allowed to meet only once a year on the day of 7th day of 7th lunar month.

 

The story began from the good-looking poor orphaned boy living with his elder brother and sister-in-law. After his parents past away, his brother inherited the house and the land. The boy owned an old ox. He needed to work on the farm's field with the ox everyday. So he was called a cowherd. His daily life was just like in a Cinderella story.

 

The 7th daughter of Emperor is good at handcrafting, especially weaving clothing. So she was called a Weaving Maid. The Emperor likes her skill to weave clouds and rainbows to beautify the world.

 

The ox was actually an immortal from the Heaven. He made mistakes in the Heaven and was punished as an ox in the Earth. One day, the ox suddenly said to the cowherd, "You are a nice person. If you want to get married, go to the brook and your wish will be come true." The cowherd went to the brook and saw all 7 pretty daughters of Emperor came down from Heaven and took a bath in there. Fascinated by the youngest and also the most beautiful one, he took away her fairy clothes secretly. The other six fairies went away after bath. The youngest couldn't fly back without her fairy clothes. Then the cowherd appeared and told her that he would not return her clothes unless she promised to be his wife. After a little hesitation and with a mixture of shyness and eagerness, she agreed to the request from this handsome man. So they married and had two children two years later.

 

One day, the old ox was dying and told the cowherd that he should keep his hide for emergency purpose.

 

The Emperor found the sky's not that beautiful as before without the 7th daughter weaving clouds and rainbows. He wanted his daughter's grandmother to find the missing daughter and to bring her back. . While the 7th princess was flying to the Heaven with her grandmother, the cowboy wore the ox hide, took his children in two bamboo baskets with his wife's old fairy clothes and chased after his wife in the sky. The grandmother made a milky way in the sky with her hairpin, which kept them separated. The 7th princess was moved to the star Vega (The swooping - Eagle) in the Lyra (Harp) constellation. And the cowherd with his two children stayed in the star Altair (Flying one) in the Aquila (Eagle) constellation. The star of Vega is also known as the Weaving Maid Star and the star of Altair is as the Cowherd Star in China.

 

Magpies were moved by their true love and many of them gathered and formed a bridge for the couple to meet in the evening of the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, which is the day the Emperor allowed them to meet once a year.

 

They said that it's hard to find a magpie on Chinese Valentine's Day in China, because all magpies fly to make the bridge for the Weaving Maid and Cowherd. The one thing to prove that is the feathers on the head of the magpies are much lesser after the Chinese Valentine's Day. If the night Chinese Valentine's Day rains, the rain are the tears of the Weaving Maid and Cowherd.

[tonado]

http://www.china.org.cn/english/NM-e/39852.htm#

 

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is the only Chinese festival devoted to love in the Lunar calendar.

 

Unlike St. Valentine's Day in Western countries there is not so much emphasis on giving chocolates, flowers and kisses. Instead, Chinese girls prepare fruits, melons and incense as offerings to Zhi Nu, the weaving maiden, praying to acquire high skills in needlecraft, as well as hoping to find satisfactory husbands.

 

In the evening, people sit outdoors to observe the stars.

[david_dawei]

http://www.informationblast.com/Chi_Hsi_Festival.html

 

Qi Qiao Jie (ÆòÇɽÚ, The Festival to Plead for Skills), sometimes called Chinese Valentine's Day, falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the Chinese calendar and thus is also known as Double Seven Day. It is traditional for young girls to demonstrate their domestic arts on this day (especially melon carving) and to make wishes for a good husband. Additional names include:

 

The Night of Sevens (ÆßϦ)

Seventh Sister's Birthday (Æß½ãÕQ qi1 jie3 dan4)

The Night of Skills (ÇÉϦ qiao3 xi4)

 

 

On Qi Qiao Jie night, a festoon is placed in the yard and the single or newly married women in the household make an offering to Niu Lang and Zhi Nu consisting of fruit, flowers, tea, and facial powder. After finishing the offering, half of the facial powder is thrown on the roof and the other half divided among the young women. In this way the women are bound in beauty with Zhi Nu!

 

Japan also celebrates this festival as the Tanabata festival, celebrating the meeting of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair). (See #The story of Cowherd and Weaver Girl)

 

Two other days have romantic associations in China: Valentine's Day on February 14th, borrowed from the west, and Lantern Festival Day on which an ummarried girl can appear in public unescorted and thus be seen by eligible bachelors.

Edited August 10, 2005 by DavidZixuan (see edit history)

[david_dawei]

The real Chinese Valentine's Day

Latest Updated by 2003-02-17 15:37:35

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

February has long been a month of romance. Though popular in China, the Western Valentine's Day contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman traditions that we are not so familiar with.

 

This February, Chinese doubled the celebration of love, since the Lantern Festival, the 15th of the first lunar month, is regarded as the Chinese lovers' day following Valentine's Day.

 

Still, the seventh day of the seventh month in the Chinese lunar calendar, the day when Niulang (the Cowboy) and Zhinu (the Weaving Girl) are supposed to meet, according to a Chinese legend, is devoted to love and is also regarded as a Chinese lover's day.

 

Should we celebrate three lover's days in one year? Or which is the generally accepted Chinese lover's day?

 

In my age group and circle of friends, Feb. 14 is much more popular than the other two. Some of my friends choose to express or announce their love on that day with the help of flowers and candlelight dinners. Also the atmosphere of celebration is stronger on Feb. 14. You can feel it everywhere, in the hotel, in the department store and on the street. The Western Valentine's Day has already been widely accepted. It is love, not the religion, that we are celebrating universally.

 

As for the other two days, they are both lunar dates and very Chinese. Traditionally Chinese are very reserved concerning love. So neither of them is appropriate to become a special festival for love.

 

I am sure the Lantern Festival is the Chinese Valentine's Day.

 

The famous Song poem "when the moon climbs on the willow twig, the girl and boy date after dusk" describes an ancient love on the Lantern Day.

 

On that day, many traditional activities are held, such as garden parties, watching festive lanterns and guessing riddles. These activities meant a lot to young men and women in ancient times, since the Lantern Day was one of the few occasions women were allowed to go out. So lots of love stories, like love at first sight, secret dating, and wooing, occurred on that day.

 

There is cultural significance behind the Lantern Day. That's why I choose that day as the real Chinese Valentine's Day.

 

I prefer 7.7 to be the Chinese Valentine's Day. There is a romantic folk tale for that day about the meeting of Niulang and Zhinu. They meet only once in a year. A very touching story.

 

I heard that magpies are scarce on that day every year since they have flown to form the bridge for Zhinu to cross to meet with Niulang on the seventh evening of the seventh month. It is always hard for true love.

 

In my hometown, families have dinner together and stir-fry beans as snacks on that day. It feels sweet and warm, just the right feeling for a lover's day. And it's time we established our own Chinese lover's day.

 

Yes, there are historical sources behind each of the three dates. But, in my understanding, they are more products of business promotion. People are trapped into fixed patterns, sending expensive flowers, booking expensive dinners, saying "I love you" on the same day. Valentine's Day conjures up not only images of love and romance, but big money for business.

 

It is bourgeois and affected to have a special day to celebrate your private love. If you are in love, every day is Valentine's Day. If you lose your love, even an accepted Valentine's Day would become a day of a broken heart.

 

---

 

my SO says this to me... "every day together is Valentine's Day" ; "every day together is New Years"...

 

One can and should celebrate their love to their SO everyday !!

Edited August 10, 2005 by DavidZixuan (see edit history)