qixi festival (china)
This holiday is the Valentines' Day for China, today it happens on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the Chinese calendar. This the one day of the year that young girls show off their domestic skill and wish for a good husband. So sometimes this night is known as the night of skill. But over the past few years the Qixi Festival became the Valentines' Day for the younger generation, and they express their love and exchange gifts.
The festival comes from an old Chinese fairy love story. Once upon a time there was a young man named Niulang and he was a cowherd. He one day he came across a young fairy in a lake taking a bath. He stole her clothes, only because he was curious he was anxious to see what would happen. After that a girl by the name of Zhinü cam to Niulang for the clothing. Zhinü was very kind and courageous, Niulan then fell in love with her. Due to that fack that Niulang had already seen her naked she agreed to marry him and gave up being a fairy. They were very happy together and they had to children, one boy and one girl. Overtime the Goddess of Heaven discovered their love. She was outraged, that her favorite weaver girl had married a measly mortal and it was secret. The Goddess of Heaven gave order to her men to catch Zhinü at once, to return her to the heavens. Niulang tried to pull his wife back but he succeed at it because he could not fly. Than an ox spoke to Niulng telling him if and only if he killed it and put it on its hide that he would be able to return to his wife at once. Listening to what the ox had told him he flew to his wife. The Goddess of course was not too fond of this she took out one of her hairpins and scraped a wide river into the sky and that formend the Milky Way between Vega and Altair. After that Zhinü would weave coloful clouds to loom on one side of the rive while her husband would watch her form a distance. On the seventh night of the seventh month, once a year all the magpies in the wold fly up to the heaven to from a magpie bridge so the couple can meet for a single night.
The festival comes from an old Chinese fairy love story. Once upon a time there was a young man named Niulang and he was a cowherd. He one day he came across a young fairy in a lake taking a bath. He stole her clothes, only because he was curious he was anxious to see what would happen. After that a girl by the name of Zhinü cam to Niulang for the clothing. Zhinü was very kind and courageous, Niulan then fell in love with her. Due to that fack that Niulang had already seen her naked she agreed to marry him and gave up being a fairy. They were very happy together and they had to children, one boy and one girl. Overtime the Goddess of Heaven discovered their love. She was outraged, that her favorite weaver girl had married a measly mortal and it was secret. The Goddess of Heaven gave order to her men to catch Zhinü at once, to return her to the heavens. Niulang tried to pull his wife back but he succeed at it because he could not fly. Than an ox spoke to Niulng telling him if and only if he killed it and put it on its hide that he would be able to return to his wife at once. Listening to what the ox had told him he flew to his wife. The Goddess of course was not too fond of this she took out one of her hairpins and scraped a wide river into the sky and that formend the Milky Way between Vega and Altair. After that Zhinü would weave coloful clouds to loom on one side of the rive while her husband would watch her form a distance. On the seventh night of the seventh month, once a year all the magpies in the wold fly up to the heaven to from a magpie bridge so the couple can meet for a single night.