Thisfestivalisinmid-summerwhentheweatheriswarmandthegrassandtreesrevealtheirluxuriousgreens.Atnightwhentheskyisdottedwithstars，andpeoplecanseetheMilkyWayspanningfromthenorthtothesouth.Oneachbankofitisabrightstar，whichseeeachotherfromafar.TheyaretheCowherdandWeaverMaid，andaboutthemthereisabeautifullovestorypasseddownfromgenerationtogeneration.
Long，longago，therewasanhonestandkind-heartedfellownamedNiuLang(Cowhand)。Hisparentsdiedwhenhewasachild.Laterhewasdrivenoutofhishomebyhissister-in-law.Sohelivedbyhimselfherdingcattleandfarming.Oneday，afairyfromheavenZhiNu(WeaverMaid)fellinlovewithhimandcamedownsecretlytoearthandmarriedhim.ThecowhandfarmedinthefieldandtheWeaverMaidwoveathome.Theylivedahappylifeandgavebirthtoaboyandagirl.Unfortunately，theGodofHeavensoonfoundoutthefactandorderedtheQueenMotheroftheWesternHeavenstobringtheWeaverMaidback.
Withthehelpofcelestialcattle，theCowhandflewtoheavenwithhissonanddaughter.Atthetimewhenhewasabouttocatchupwithhiswife，theQueenMothertookoffoneofhergoldhairpinsandmadeastroke.OnebillowyriverappearedinfrontoftheCowhand.TheCowhandandWeaverMaidwereseparatedonthetwobanksforeverandcouldonlyfeeltheirtears.Theirloyaltytolovetouchedmagpies，sotensofthousandsofmagpiescametobuildabridgefortheCowhandandWeaverMaidtomeeteachother.TheQueenMotherwaseventuallymovedandallowedthemtomeeteachyearonthe7thofthe7thlunarmonth.Hencetheirmeetingdatehasbeencalled"QiXi"(DoubleSeventh)。
Accordingtolegend,alongtimeago,thereisafairywomancalledtheweavercametoearth,shesawtheCowboyverypoor,tohelptheCowboyfarming,cooking,washingclothes,andlatertheybothmarried,hadahappyday.ButlaterwasJadeEmperorandQueenMotherfound,theysenttheweavercaughtthesky,closedup.Cowboyverysad,hetookthechildtofindweaver.Totheskywasariverstopped,hecanonlyshoutacrosstheriver,butdonotseetheweaver.Thiswasknownbythemagpie,andtheydecidedtotakeabridgewiththeirownbodyontheMilkyWayonJuly7tomeettheCowboyandtheweaver.SoonJuly7eachyear,theCowboyandtheweaverwillmeetonthemagpiebridge,andtheywillcrywhentheymeet.Sotheskywillrain.
ThisiswhatIknowthe"Tanabata"legend,Iwasdeeplymoved!Cowboyandweavertoopoor,ayeartoseeaface.Iwouldalsoliketosay"thankyoumagpie"!BecauseitisintheirhelpwiththeCowboyandweavertomeet.Isthisamovinglegend?
VALENTINE‘SDayinChina,theseventhdayoftheseventhlunarmonth,fallsonAugust4thisyear.
Thatis,onMondayevening,NiuLangandZhiNuwillmeetonabridgeofmagpies(鹊桥)acrosstheMilkyWay(银河).Chinesegrannieswillremindchildrenthattheywouldnotbeabletoseeanymagpiesonthateveningbecauseallthemagpieshavelefttoformabridgeintheheavenswiththeirwings.
Romanticlegend
Thelegendhasbeenhandeddownfornearly2millennia.ThestoryhasbeenrecordedasfarbackastheJinDynasty(256-420AD).PoetscomposedhundredsofversesonthelovestoryandmanytypesofChineseoperatellthestory.
TheChinesepeoplebelievethatthestarVega(织女星),eastoftheMilkyWay,isZhiNuand,attheconstellationofAquila(天鹰座),onthewesternsideoftheMilkyWay,NiuLangwaitsforhiswife.
ZhiNuwassaidtobetheyoungestofsevendaughtersoftheQueenofHeaven.Withhersisters,sheworkedhardtoweavebeautifulcloudsinthesky,whileNiuLangwasapoororphancowherd,drivenoutofhishomebyhiselderbrotherandhiscruelwife.
NiuLanglamentedoverhislonelyandpoorlifewithanoldcow,hisonlyfriendandcompanion.Themagicalcowkindlytoldhimofawaytofindabeautifulandnicewomanashislifecompanion.
Underthedirectionofthecow,NiuLangwenttotheriversideonanevening,wherethesevenfairiesslippedoutoftheirheavenlypalacetobathe.
Hetookoneofthebeautifulsilkdressesthefairieshadleftonthebank.Whenthefairiesleftthewater,ttheyoungestcouldn‘tfindherclothesandhadtoseehersistersflybacktoheavenwithouther.
ThenNiuLangcameoutwiththedressandaskedtheyoungestfairy,ZhiNu,tostaywithhim.
SeveralyearspassedonEarth,whichwereonlyafewdaysinheaven.NiuLangandZhiNulivedhappilytogetherandhadtwochildrenbeforetheQueenofHeavendiscoveredZhiNu‘sabsence.
ShewassoannoyedshehadZhiNubroughtbacktoheaven.Seeinghisbelovedwifeflyinginthesky,NiuLangwasterrified.Hecaughtsightofthecowhidehangingonawall.Themagicalcowhadtoldhimbeforedyingofoldage:"Keepthecowhide(牛皮)foremergencyuse."
Puttingthecowhideon,hewentafterhiswifewithhistwochildren.
Withthehelpofthecowhide,NiuLangwasabletofollowZhiNuintoheaven.HewasabouttoreachhiswifewhentheQueenshowedupandpulledoffherhairpintodrawalinebetweenthetwo.ThelinebecametheSilverRiverinheaven,ortheMilkyWay.
ZhiNuwentbacktotheheavenlyworkshop,goingonweavingtheclouds.Butshewassosad,andmissedherhusbandacrosstheSilverRiversomuchthatthecloudssheweavedseemedsad.Finally,theQueenshowedalittlemercy,allowingthecoupletomeetonceeveryyearontheSilverRiver