The Double Seventh Festival， on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month， is a
traditional festival full of romance. It often goes into August in the Gregorian
calendar.
This festival is in mid-summer when the weather is warm and the grass and
trees reveal their luxurious greens. At night when the sky is dotted with stars，
and people can see the Milky Way spanning from the north to the south. On each
bank of it is a bright star， which see each other from afar. They are the
Cowherd and Weaver Maid， and about them there is a beautiful love story passed
down from generation to generation.
Long， long ago， there was an honest and kind-hearted fellow named Niu Lang
(Cowhand)。 His parents died when he was a child. Later he was driven out of his
home by his sister-in-law. So he lived by himself herding cattle and farming.
One day， a fairy from heaven Zhi Nu (Weaver Maid) fell in love with him and came
down secretly to earth and married him. The cowhand farmed in the field and the
Weaver Maid wove at home. They lived a happy life and gave birth to a boy and a
girl. Unfortunately， the God of Heaven soon found out the fact and ordered the
Queen Mother of the Western Heavens to bring the Weaver Maid back.
With the help of celestial cattle， the Cowhand flew to heaven with his son
and daughter. At the time when he was about to catch up with his wife， the Queen
Mother took off one of her gold hairpins and made a stroke. One billowy river
appeared in front of the Cowhand. The Cowhand and Weaver Maid were separated on
the two banks forever and could only feel their tears. Their loyalty to love
touched magpies， so tens of thousands of magpies came to build a bridge for the
Cowhand and Weaver Maid to meet each other. The Queen Mother was eventually
moved and allowed them to meet each year on the 7th of the 7th lunar month.
Hence their meeting date has been called "Qi Xi" (Double Seventh)。
发表于 2016-7-29 16:24:43