The Qixi Festival,
also known as the Qiqiao Festival, is a Chinese festival that celebrates the
annual meeting of the cowherd and weaver girl in Chinese mythology. It falls on
the seventh day of the 7th month on the Chinese calendar. It is sometimes
called the Double Seventh Festival, the Chinese Valentine's Day, the Night of
Sevens, or the Magpie Festival. This is an important festival, especially for
young girls.
The festival
originated from the romantic legend of two lovers, Zhinü and Niulang, who were
the weaver maid and the cowherd, respectively. The tale of The Weaver Girl and
the Cowherd 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 Qixi festival inspired
Tanabata festival in Japan ,
Chilseok festival in Korea ,
Thất Tịch festival in Vietnam
Customs
While the customs
of this festival varies according to the different regions, the same hope is
cherished by all. The most prevalent
custom is that of girls praying to Zhi Nu for skillful hands for sewing.
Because Zhi Nu is regarded as a beautiful woman deft at weaving, in the evening
of the festival, girls sew some articles to compete with each other and prepare
some delicious fruits to worship Zhi Nu in order to be endowed with the
masterly sewing skill. Not only hoping for this skill, they also pray to have a
sweet love.
In the rural
regions, people usually see the meeting of Niu Lang and Zhi Nu as two stars in
the sky. At the same time, the old people tell the young about this old love
legend. Unfortunately, this is not popular in cities nowadays.
Today's Double Seventh Festival
On this day, the
Chinese gaze to the sky to look for Vega and Altair shining in the Milky Way,
while a third star forms a symbolic bridge between the two stars. It was said
that if it rains on this day that it was caused by a river sweeping away the
magpie bridge, or that the rain is the tears of the separated couple. Based on
the legend of a flock of magpies forming a bridge to reunite the couple, a pair
of magpies came to symbolize conjugal happiness and faithfulness.
In the Chinese
cities, the Western Valentine's Day is more favored than the Double Seventh
Festival by young people. They spend the latter as the Valentine's Day.
Although some traditional customs have been changed or been lost, the legend of
Niu Lang and Zhi Nu is still passed down from generation to generation. Like
the presents of Valentine's Day, flowers and chocolates are also the popular
ones.
For more
information, please visit www.top-chinatour.com
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