Raise your head on August 16 and gaze at the stars, you will find something romantic going on in the sky.Raise your head on August 16 and gaze at the stars, you will find something romantic going on in the sky.

VALENTINE'S Day in China, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, falls on August 19 this year.

That is, on Sunday evening, Niu Lang and Zhi Nu will meet on a bridge of magpies(鹊桥) across the Milky Way(银河). Chinese grannies will remind children that they would not be able to see any magpies on that evening because all the magpies have left to form a bridge in the heavens with their wings.

Chinese ceremonies

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is the only Chinese festival devoted to love in the Lunar calendar.

Unlike St. Valentine's Day in Western countries there is not so much emphasis on giving chocolates, flowers and kisses. Instead, Chinese girls prepare fruits, melons and incense(熏香) as offerings to Zhi Nu, the weaving maiden, praying to acquire high skills in needlecraft(裁缝), as well as hoping to find satisfactory husbands.

In the evening, people sit outdoors to observe the stars. Chinese grannies would say that, if you stand under a grapevine, you can probably overhear what Zhi Nu and Niu Lang are talking about.
POST: 2024-11-25