The Legend of Chinese Valentine's Day

                                                                                         

Chinese Valentine’s Day is on the Seventh Day
of the Seventh Month on the Chinese calendar,
which falls on August 4th this year. Legend has
it that the seventh daughter of the Emperor of
Heaven, a weaving maid, fell in love and married
a cowherd. They were so much in love that they
forgot everything else in their lives and didn't complete
their farming and weaving duties, which angered the Jade Emperor.
He exiled them to opposite banks of the Silver River (Milky Way),
and only allows them to meet each other once a year on the night of
the seventh day of the seventh month.

This legend has been handed down for nearly two millennia. The
Chinese people believe that the star, Vega, east of the Milky
Way, is Zhi Nu, and that Altair, on the western side of the Milky
Way is Niu Lang waiting for his wife.

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is the only Chinese
festival devoted to love in the lunar calendar. Chinese
Valentine’s Day traditions abound and this special day is
celebrated differently depending on the Chinese province.

Some of the many traditions include Chinese girls preparing
fruits, melons, and incense as offerings to Zhi Nu, the weaving
maiden, praying to acquire high skills in needlecraft, as well as
hoping to find satisfactory husbands.

Girls place sewing needles on water. If the needle doesn’t sink,
it’s a sign of the girl’s maturity and intelligence and she is ready
and eligible to find a husband.

People in some Chinese provinces believe that decorating the
horns of oxen with flowers will save them from catastrophe.
Another tradition is for women to wash their hair to make it look
fresh and shining.

chinese romantic coupleOn Chinese Valentine’s Day, young lovers go
to the temple of the Matchmaker and pray
for their love and happiness, and their
possible marriage in China.

In the evening, people sit outside to
observe the stars. On this night, Vega and
Altair are closer together than at any other
time of year. Chinese grannies say that if
you stand under a grapevine, you can probably overhear what
Zhi Nu and Niu Lang are saying to one another.

About the author:
Author Bio
Jane S. Roseen is the Owner and President of Harmony Sweets, an international gourmet chocolate shop. Harmony Sweets’ mission focuses on individual consumers purchasing gourmet chocolates from around the world for their friends and relatives, as well as corporate gift-giving. Gourmet chocolate gift baskets and personalized chocolates are also available.

Website: http://www.harmonysweets.com


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