Chinese Valentine's Day

When Celebrated

The 7th day of the 7th lunar month in the Chinese calendar

Gifty-ness

About the Holiday

There are two legends about this holiday. One is that on this day all the magpies in the world fly up to create a bridge across the galaxy, allowing two separated lovers, Niu Lang and Zhi Nu, to spend a night together. Zhi was the youngest of seven daughters and was a weaver and Niu was a poor orphaned cowherd. Heavenly Mother (or Queen of Heaven) allowed them to marry but she enjoyed her marriage so much she stopped weaving cloth for the gods and goddesses. This angered Heavenly Mother and she separated the two allowing them only one day a year to reunite.

This festival is sometimes referred to as e Seven Sisters Festival or the Festival of the Double Sevens. This story has been passed down for nearly two millennia and has been recorded as far back as the Jin Dynasty (256-420 AD). A famous poem about this legend is called Fairy Of The Magpie Bridge.

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