Qi Xi

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Qi Xi (七夕; Pinyin: qī xī; "The Night of Sevens"), sometimes called Chinese Valentine's Day or Magpie Festival, falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month on the Chinese calendar; thus its name. Young girls traditionally demonstrate their domestic arts, especially melon carving, on this day and make wishes for a good husband. It is also known by the following names:

  • The Festival to Plead for Skills (乞巧節; qǐ qiǎo jié)
  • The Seventh Sister's Birthday (七姐誕; qī jiě dàn)
  • The Night of Skills (巧夕; qiǎo xī)

The Japanese festival of Seventh Night (七夕 tanabata?), on July 7, celebrates the meeting of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair). Some cities celebrate Tanabata on August 7, and others on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month on the Japanese lunisolar calendar.

Other East Asian cultures celebrate on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the Chinese calendar, which in 2006 fell on July 31.

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[edit] The Story of Cowherd and Weaver Girl

In late summer, the stars Altair and Vega are high in the night sky, and the Chinese tell the following love story, of which there are many variations:

A young cowherd named Niulang (Chinese: 牛郎; pinyin: niú láng, "the cowherd", the star Altair) happens across seven fairy sisters bathing in a lake. Encouraged by his mischievous companion the ox, he steals their clothes and waits to see what will happen. The fairy sisters elect the youngest and most beautiful sister Zhinü (Simplified Chinese: 织女; Traditional Chinese: 織女; pinyin: zhī nǚ, "the weaver girl", the star Vega) to retrieve their clothing. She does so, but since Niulang sees her naked she must agree to his request for marriage. She proves to be a wonderful wife, and Niulang a good husband, and they are very happy together. But the Goddess of Heaven (in some versions Zhinü's mother) finds out that a mere mortal has married one of the fairy girls and is furious. (In another version, the Goddess forced the weaver fairy back to her former duty of weaving colorful clouds in the sky because she could not do her job while married to the mortal.) Taking out her hairpin, the Goddess scratches a wide river in the sky to separate the two lovers forever (thus forming the Milky Way, which separates Altair and Vega).

Zhinü must sit forever on one side of the river, sadly weaving on her loom, while Niulang watches her from afar and takes care of their two children (his flanking stars β and γ Aquilae).

But once a year all the magpies in the world take pity on them and fly up into heaven to form a bridge (鵲橋, "the bridge of magpies", Que Qiao) over the star Deneb in the Cygnus constellation so the lovers may be together for a single night, the seventh night of the seventh moon.

See also: The Princess and the Cowherd

[edit] Variations of the Story

  • It was also said that the Goddess of Heaven out of pity decided to let them unite once on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. She was touched by their love for each other.
  • It is the Emperor of Heaven, or her father (other times, her mother), who keeps the lovers separate and he does so in order that they focus on their work instead of romance. (the Maoist work-ethic version)
  • The star Deneb is a fairy who acts as a chaperone when the lovers meet on the magpie bridge. (the G-rated version)
  • Rather than once a year, there was another version where the lovers were allowed once a month.

[edit] Traditions

On Qi Xi, a festoon is placed in the yard and the single or newly married women in the household make an offering to Niulang and Zhinü consisting of fruit, flowers, tea, and facial powder (makeup). After finishing the offering, half of the facial powder is thrown on the roof and the other half divided among the young women. It is believed by doing this the women are bound in beauty with Zhinü.

Another tradition is for young girls to throw a sewing needle into a bowl full of water on the night of Qi Xi as a test of embroidery skills. If the needle floats on top of the water instead of sinking, it is believed to be an indication of the girl being a skilled embroideress.

[edit] Schedule

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the lunisolar calendar in coming ten years.

  1. 2007-08-19
  2. 2008-08-07
  3. 2009-08-26
  4. 2010-08-16
  5. 2011-08-06
  6. 2012-08-23 (Note: Japanese one is 2012-08-24 because of difference in time.)
  7. 2013-08-13
  8. 2014-08-02
  9. 2015-08-20
  10. 2016-08-09

[edit] Other Romantic Days in Chinese Culture

Two other days have, or had, romantic associations in China: Valentine's Day on February 14th, borrowed from the West, and Lantern Festival Day, on which an ummarried girl was traditionally permitted to appear in public unescorted and thus be seen by eligible bachelors. The latter no longer has such implications nowadays, however.

[edit] See also

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