Did you know that China also has Valentine’s Day? This day of love is a global event celebrated by all. It has a variety of names such as the Double Seventh Festival, Seventh Evening Festival, and the Daughter’s Festival. Not only that, but its Chinese name is 七夕节, which is broken up to 七 (Qi) which means seven, and 夕(Qi) which means night. Based on the Lunar calendar, this festival takes place on the seventh day of the seventh month. Contrary to America’s Valentine’s Day, the Double Seventh Festival will take place on August 7, 2019.
The Legend of Double Seventh Festival
This legend consists of a love story between the seventh daughter of Emperor of Heaven and an orphaned cowherd. When the emperor heard of this, he separated them and the seventh daughter was forced to move to the star Vega, and the cowherd moved to the star Altair. They were allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.
The story began with a poor orphaned boy who owned an old ox and worked on the farm’s field with the ox every day. On the other hand, the seventh daughter of the Emperor was good at weaving clothing, so she was called a Weaving Maid. She weaved clouds and rainbows to beautify the world.
The ox was actually an immortal from heaven but was punished as an ox in the Earth. One day, the ox told the cowherd, “If you want to get married, go to the brook and your wish will come true.” He went and saw the daughters of the Emperor, was intrigued by the youngest one, and then secretly took away her fairy clothes. Because of this, she was unable to fly back to heaven and was told that the cowherd would not return her clothes unless she promised to be his wife. As a result, they got married and had two children two years later.
The Emperor wanted his daughter back and sent his mother to find her. While the seventh princess was flying to the Heaven with her grandmother, the cowherd wore the magical ox hide, took his children, 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 seventh princess was moved to the star Vega, while the cowherd, with his two children, stayed in the star Altair. In China, the star of Vega is also known as the Weaving Maid Star and the star of Altair is known as the Cowherd Star.
Birds were moved and gathered by their true love and formed a bridge for the couple to meet in the evening of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, which was the day the Emperor had allowed them to meet. It is said that if it rains on the night of the Double Seventh Festival, the rain symbolizes the tears of the Weaving Maid and the Cowherd.
I hope you have a great Valentine’s day!
Websites used
- https://www.chinahighlights.com/festivals/valentine-day.htm
- https://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/77.htm
Based on my understanding, Chinese valentine’s day named 七夕节, which means night. The legend of this day is very captivating. In the end their true love formed a bridge for the couple to meet in the evening of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, which was the day the Emperor had allowed them to meet. Hope you create similar content like this. I appreciate you write about Chinese holiday that is only in China. I hope everyone around the world could able to learn and read the legend of 七夕节
This article was fascinating as I never knew China had its own Valentine’s Day story. The story of the Cowherd and Weaving Maid is definitely one of the more creative explanations for objects in the heavens and universe. It is always interesting to see how different cultures interpret and celebrate similar holidays. Astronomy and astrology seem to have a great impact on this particular story as various stars and celestial objects were named after the characters of this famous story. Additionally, it was interesting to learn that the stars Vegas and Altair are also called the Weaving Maid Star and Cowherd Star. Thanks for sharing this story!
I think that this story is so interesting! When we learned about this legend in Chinese class, I learned a lot about Chinese ideals. Through this legend, I learned that the Chinese believe that love is more important than the views of the parents. They also believe that economic state does not matter too much when falling in love.
Wow! I never knew Chinese had their own Valentine’s Day. I guess it’s safe to say that Chinese is actually a place of their own. They have their own holidays. The origin story was very information. It really demonstrates the importance of this holiday to the Chinese. I would highly recommend sharing this article
This article was especially interesting, as it describes a holiday in Chinese culture that I did not know too much about. While we learned about this holiday this year in class, I never knew that the holiday was also called the Double Seventh Festival, Seventh Evening Festival, and the Daughter’s Festival. I find that the story behind the holiday is very interesting, as it describes social and economic divides between two people that love each other. I also find it interesting that the two lovers are now based off of two stars, which are Vega and Altair. It is also interesting to see how both America and China have their own versions of Valentine’s Day, and both reflect aspects of their own cultures. Keep up the good work!
I love this article about China’s own Valentine’s Day. I learned in class about this holiday and how it’s known as 七夕节. I think it’s interesting how there is a love story behind the two stars Vega and Altair. I’ve never heard any story behind our own Valentine’s Day, so I like that there’s a story for China’s Valentine’s Day. I think this legend is trying to teach us that love is very powerful and no one can interfere with it. One thing I learned is that if it rains on the night of the Double Seventh Festival, the rain symbolizes the tears of the Weaving Maid and the Cowherd. Great article!
I really enjoyed this article about China’s Valentine’s Day. I really think its interesting how China has a separate Valentine’s Day then the USA. I really don’t understand the backstory to China’s Valentine’s Day but this article really gave me a good foundation to understand it. Even though I don’t understand the full story of China’s Valentine’s Day, I think it’s very interesting. Overall this is a wonderful article.
What a cool article, thanks for sharing! I found it really interesting how China celebrates Valentine’s Day, but by a different name and on a different day. I also think it’s very fascinating how the holiday, similar to many other Chinese holidays, has an elaborate legend behind it. For example, the name of the festival, “七夕节“ or the Double Seventh Festival, comes from the legend of how the cowherd and the weaving maid only see each other once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month. The legend behind this story was very sad, but super interesting as well. I really enjoyed this read, thanks!
This is an amazing article and really educational. I always knew China had valentines day but I didn’t know how drastically different it was compared to America. First of all, Valentines day in China is on a different date. Second, China has its own legend/story behind valentines day while America doesn’t. This shows how America and China are so different yet similar at the same time. Thank you for sharing this information!
Before I read this article, I had no clue that the Chinese Valentine’s Day date was different than the American date. But I did know about the Chinese legend of Valentine’s Day. I also did not know that 七夕节 meant “The Seven Evening Festival.” I did find it interesting that Chinese valentines day is in August. Also, I like that you included your sources in the article!
This article was very informative and interesting, as it is not very well known that China has their own Valentine’s Day. Thanks to this article, I now know that China’s Valentine’s Day possesses multiple names, such as the Double Seventh festival or the Seventh Evening festival. I recall that in class I was shown a video on the story behind the special day and learned about this holiday as well as the date on the lunar calendar on which it takes place. I thought it was pretty cool that China had a fun little backstory for their Valentine’s Day which differs from America’s Valentine’s Day. I thought that the story was a nice way to also represent the two stars, Altair and Vega, with the Cowherd and Weaving maid respectively. Overall, the story provides a meaningful message about true love and provides another distinguishing feature of China’s culture that promotes the uniqueness of Chinese culture.
This article was fascinating as I never knew China had its own Valentine’s Day story. I now know that China’s Valentine’s Day has multiple names, such as the Double Seventh festival or the Seventh Evening festival. I found it interesting that the cowherd and the weaving maid only see each other once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month. I hope everyone around the world could able to learn and read the legend of 七夕节
Loved reading about China’s very own Valentine’s Day, as I never knew it even existed! It’s name “Double Seventh Festival” or the “seventh Evening festival” is very interesting, and I learned in Chinese class about this story. This story of the Cowherd and Weaving Maid is a very cool explanation for the Universe’s existence. It’s also interesting how China’s valentine’s day differs from America’s valentines day, as the story is very unique and provides a message about true love. Thank you for bringing to my attention about China’s Valentine’s Day!
I really think its interesting how China has a separate Valentine’s Day then the USA. I really don’t understand the backstory to China’s Valentine’s Day but this article really gave me a good foundation to understand it. Even though I don’t understand the full story of China’s Valentine’s Day, I think it’s very interesting. Overall this is a wonderful article.
Interesting article! The similarities and differences between China’s Valentine’s Day and western Valentine’s Day is interesting. The reoccurring theme of the number 7 in the name, date, and legend of this holiday is also fascinating. I’ve never heard of this legend before. However, the cowherd’s theft of the Emperor’s daughter’s clothes does not seem like it would hold up as a love story in modern day.
Before I read this article, I had no clue that the Chinese Valentine’s Day date was different than the American date. But I did know about the Chinese legend of Valentine’s Day. I also did not know that 七夕节 meant “The Seven Evening Festival.” I did find it interesting that Chinese valentines day is in August. Also, I like that you included your sources in the article!
This is so interesting! I’ve heard of the magpie bridge before, but I haven’t heard of the full story. I also didn’t know that China also had a Valentine’s day. It’s also cool how this story is connected to stars. Thanks for sharing!
This was such an interesting article. I didn’t know that Valentine’s Day in China is celebrated on a different day than we do and is called something else. I really like how there is a story behind it. I thought it was interesting how they would only meet one the seventh day of the lunar month. Great job!
这故事好心动啊！我从来也没听说过中国还有七夕节呢！这故事太烂漫了， 真适合中国的情人节。 天上的星星和神仙都同意成全牛郎和织女在一起。但是我觉得他们也和可怜，因为他们只有一天的时间见都一起。除了这一天，人影都见不了。谢谢Gloria给我们写的好故事。
每一个传统节日都有一个属于自己的故事，而这些故事都非常的感人！有寓意，从而让我们这些后代能深刻的记住这些传统，并且将传统传承下去，七夕节的故事也非常的感人
Great article! I have heard of the Chinese Valentine’s day, but I never knew what was the real story behind it. I think it’s cool that the Weaving Maid and The Cowherd still ended up together despite her grandmother’s disapproval. This story was overall pretty interesting. After reading this, I finally know where this holiday came from. I think in China people celebrate two Valentine’s day? One is on Feb 14 and the other one is 七夕. Great job Gloria!
Great Article! That story was so interesting. It gives more meaning to the holiday compared the American valentine’s day, since we don’t really have a legend to go with it. the symbolism of the rain is hauntingly beautiful Chinese legends are always so fun to read.
This is a very good article! I didn’t know that the Chinese celebrated Valentine’s Day! I used to think it was only a tradition in the Western world. I also found it strange that China has Valentine’s Day on August 7th, not February 14th. The part where you mention the Ox was an immortal from heaven that was punished as an Ox in earth reminds shows the Chinese belief of reincarnation. Nevertheless, the rest of the story about the incidents between the emperor’s seventh daughter and an orphaned cowherd is quite interesting!
I thought it was a very good article. I thought that the Chinese is very causal with Valentine’s Day. It gives me an appreciation of Chinese Valentine’s Day, and gives me a perspective on our own in the US. I thought that it was fascinating that weaving maid and the cow he’d still stayed together although her grandmothers disapproval. Now that I read the story I realized the truth behind the day, and thought the story mood of the story was eerie, it was very informative.
我对这个故事感触很深，小的时候读这篇文章就在想为什么两个相爱的人却不能在一起。这是个悲伤的故事，但是我觉得如果他们的爱情没有开始，那也就不会有之后猛烈的悲伤了。