Seventh Eve - Chinese Valentine's Day

The 7th evening of the 7th moon of the Lunar Calendar, which falls on the 31st of July in 2006, is a traditional Chinese festival called Qixi “Seventh Eve”. Why is the Seventh Eve considered Valentine’s Day for the Chinese? The answer leads us to a touching fairy tale of Niu Lang, the Cowherd and Zhi Nü, the Weaver Girl.

In the fairy tale the Cowherd was a young farmer who had once rescued a holy cow, and the Weaver Girl was one of the granddaughters of Wɑng Mu Niɑngniɑng, Queen Mother of Heaven. One day, all the weaver girls in heaven descended on earth for a visit. While they were bathing in a river, the holy cow persuaded the Cowherd to take away the clothes of the seventh weaver girl. In the process of searching for her clothes, the Weaver Girl fell in love with the Cowherd and they became husband and wife. The Cowherd worked in the fields while the Weaver Girl weaved at home, and they led a happy life. When Queen Mother of Heaven learnt this, she was enraged and forced the Weaver Girl to go back to heaven. The Cowherd ran after them. Just as he was about to catch up with them, Queen Mother of Heaven, removed her silver hairpin and draw a line with it behind her. Immediately, a huge river appeared between the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. This river, which is created with a silver hairpin, is then called Yin He “the Silver River”, known in the West as the Milky Way. As a result the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl were ruthlessly separated. Eventually, their love moved the magpies. On the seventh eve of the seventh moon each year, all the magpies would flock together to form a bridge over the Silver River so that the couple were able to meet each other on the bridge.

On the basis of this fairy tale, people name two very bright stars opposite each other across the Milky Way the Cowherd (the Altair) and the Weaver Girl (the Vega). The two less bright stars flanking the Vega are regarded as the children of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. To sit in the courtyard on Seventh Eve to watch the Cowherd and Weaver Girl stars has become a unique custom in the Chinese popular culture. On a clear late summer night, the two stars can be seen facing each other across the broad silvery Milky Way. On this night, girls will face the bright moon and pray to heaven for a lover that can satisfy her heart’s desire.

Another Chinese custom on Seventh Eve is to release lotus lanterns on water. As darkness falls, surfaces of rivers, lakes, and ponds are dotted with the lanterns that young men and women have released. The lanterns move slowly on the water, carrying with them the longings of young men and women for a perfect marriage. Under these circumstances, the sparkling stars in the sky, the lotus lanterns in the water, and the lovers in the moonlight or in the light of the lanterns together form the most beautiful and romantic scene on Earth!

The Weaver Girl was a beautiful, clever and handy fairy who was capable of weaving brocade as flowery and colourful as the sunset glow. Girls on earth who long to be as handy as the Weaver Girl will compete to thread a needle with a silk thread in the moonlight on Seventh Eve. Whoever gets the silk thread through the eye of the needle first will be acknowledged as the most handy girl. Some girls will look up at the Weaver Girl star and pray to Weaver Girl to give them wisdom and dexterity. For this reason, Seventh Eve festival is also known as “the Festival of Praying for Dexterity” and “Girls Festival”.

Today, Seventh Eve remains a romantic festival. Customs on this day vary across China and some of the traditional activities have gone out of fashion. Yet, the love story of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl is still being passed on from generation to generation.