Tanabata Festival, also known as Qiqiao Festival, Qijie Festival, daughter's day, Qiqiao Festival, Qiniang society, Tanabata Festival, cow and bull woman's day, Qixi, etc, is a traditional festival among Chinese people.
Derived from the worship of stars, Tanabata Festival is the birthday of seven sisters in the traditional sense. It is named "Tanabata" because the worship of "Seven Sisters" is held on July 7th.
It is a traditional custom to worship the seventh sister, pray for blessings, make wishes, beg for skillful skills, sit and watch the morning glory Vega, pray for marriage, and store water on Tanabata.
Two Chinese Valentine's Days in a yearChinanews AnthonyChinanews, Beijing, July 31 - Today in the 7th day of the 7th month in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, the Seventh Evening of the Seventh Month Festival, which is considered as the Chinese Valentine's Day, a sweethearts day. However, what is sweeter is that there will be a second Seventh Evening of the Seventh Month Festival on August 30, as there is a intercalary seventh month this year. The last time when there were two Seventh Evening of the Seventh Month Festivals in a year was in 1968.The Seventh Evening of the Seventh Month Festival, also known as the Needlework's Day or Girl's Day, on which girls pray to the Weaving-Maid for her blessing on their needlework, and of which the most romantic part is the love story between Weaving-Maid and Cowherd.It is said that Cowherd from the mundane world and Weaving-Maid from heaven loved each other. They were separated by the Milky Way at the order of the Queen Mother of the Western Heaven, and were permitted to meet only once a year. Cowherd and Weaving-Maid became the stars Altair and Vega. They would meet on the seventh night of the seventh lunar month every year, with the magpies making a bridge to help them cross the Milky Way. People regarded the date of wedding as " meeting of stars " so far. Their beautiful tale has touched the hearts of so many young lovers in China throughout the ages, thus every year on the Seventh Evening of the Seventh Month Festival, many lovers would prey to the two stars for love and happiness.Two Seventh Evening of the Seventh Month Festivals in a year is more than good news to lovers, but why? That is because the traditional Chinese lunar calendar is based on the syzygies of the moon, and there are only 355 or 354 days in a year, 11 days less than a solar year. The solution to this problems is to add seven intercalary months every 19 years, thus in 2006 an intercalary seventh month is added, making two Seventh Evening of the Seventh Month Festivals.
According to legend the seventh Princess of Heaven fell in love with a poor herdsman. She stole away to marry him and lived happily for a time as a weaver. When her mother sent soldiers to fetch her daughter home they were forced to retreat before the herdsman's strength. Seeing her daughter's husband in swift pursuit, The princess' mother dropped a silver pin, creating a silver stream to separate the lovers forever. The young princess' love finally moved her father to allow her an annual reunion with her husband. On the appointed day, the princess would cross the silver stream with an escort of black birds. If it should rain on that night, it is said to be the princess' tears. The Milky Way is the silver stream, which can be seen on the lunar calendar's seventh day of the seventh month with young lovers, the Vega and Altair stars, on either side.根据传说,天堂的第七位公主爱上了一个贫穷的牧民。她偷偷跑去嫁给他,做了一段时间的纺织工,过着幸福的生活。当她母亲派士兵去接她女儿回家时,他们在牧民的力量面前被迫撤退。看到女儿的丈夫在迅速追赶,公主的母亲掉了一枚银别针,创造了一条银色的小溪,将这对恋人永远分开。年轻公主的爱最终打动了她的父亲,让她每年都和丈夫团聚。在指定的日子,公主会在黑鸟的护卫下穿过银色的溪流。如果那天晚上下雨,据说是公主的眼泪。银河是银色的溪流,可以在农历七月初七看到,两边是年轻的恋人织女星和牛郎星。