During the month of August calendar Gregorian, It is held in China the day of love" . It is also known as the Chinese Valentine and it is based on a traditional legend, that of the 7th day of the 7th lunar month of the Chinese calendar. Join us and be thrilled with this beautiful myth. This year the Chinese Valentine will be on August 17, in 2019 on August 7 and in 2020 on August 25!
The Chinese Valentine
The Chinese Valentine is a party officially known as Qixi which literally means "the night of the sevens". However, that occasion also receives other names such as Chinese day of love, Festival of the magpie or Festival of the double seven.
The day is celebrated in which three stars coincide in the summer night sky that can be observed with the naked eye. Their scientific names are Altair, Vega and Deneb and the popular ones in China are "the cowherd" and "the maiden who salutes". The third represents "the bridge of magpies" that you will discover in the myth.
The Legend of the 7th day of the 7th month
This Chinese myth is more than 2,600 years old and comes from the oral tradition. Tells the story of a young cowboy named Niulang who, while driving his cattle, found himself on the road with 7 fairies They were taking a bath. Niulang, to make a joke, hid his clothes and, when the fairies wanted to leave the lake, they did not find her. They sent the youngest of them to look for her, her name was Zhinü, which means the weaver, since that was her job. Niulang saw Zhinü naked and she, faced with this dishonorable fact, was forced to accept his marriage proposal. What started badly ended well because, according to the myth, Niulang was a good husband and she an excellent wife. This made their marriage very happy and they were deeply in love. They also had two children.
However, the goddess of heaven learned that one of her fairies had married a mortal and prey to anger, turned the spouses into two stars, but so that they could not be in contact drew a line between the two which became the Milky Way. Zhinü, from his place in the sky, weaves sadly in his loom while observing Niulang, accompanied by his two sons, the stars "β" and "γ" of the constellation of the Eagle, without being able to reach them.
Finally, the goddess of heaven took pity on her love and allowed magpies, one night a year, to draw a bridge so they could meet. That night is the 7th night of the 7th month of the Chinese lunar year, which is also known in some regions as "the festival of the Magpie". In the day of Chinese Valentine the inhabitants of that country search in the sky for the stars Vega and Altair that shine in the Milky Way and among them a third and brilliant star, Deneb, in the constellation of the Swan, which forms the symbolic bridge.
The day of love in China 7 curiosities about that special day
1. Chinese teenage girls and teenagers request the gods to be granted skill to embroider. To do this, a container is filled with water and the applicant throws a needle into it. If the needle sinks your request will not have been heard, but if it floats, it will be granted. Although now it seems silly, being a good embroiderer was an important requirement at the time of marriage in ancient China.
2. On that day the young women recite special prayers: if they are single, asking for a good husband and if they are newly married, they request an early pregnancy.
3. The star Vega, which represents the weaver girl, is six times as large as our Sun and is the fifth brightest in the night sky.
4. There is a superstition for that particular day. It is believed that if the day of Chinese Valentine an ox horn is filled with flowers, no evil can affect the family.
5. Among other customs for the day of Chinese Valentine they are that women wash their hair that night with tree sap to look fresh all year round and that the children, the next morning, wash their face with the water that has been preserved in the courtyards of the houses. With that gesture they will achieve beauty.
6. Among the offerings made by single girls and newlyweds are fruit, tea, flowers and facial powders. When delivery ends, there is a curious tradition that girls throw half of the powder into the air and the other half is divided among other young people. With this gesture a communication between Zhi Nu and them is established, so that they are tied and share the beauty of the mythical weaver.
7. The popularity of the day of Chinese Valentine or Qixi It spread throughout the world so that in its likeness love festivals are celebrated in many countries of Asia . For example in Japan where it is known as the Tanabata Festival, the Chilseok Festival in Korea or the That Tich Festival in Vietnam.
The rites and customs during the day of Chinese Valentine They vary a lot from one place to another, but their intention is always the same: celebrate the day of love and for the Chinese girls, although it seems a little old, to have the best omens to get a good husband. It also becomes a festival in which girls demonstrate their skills in traditional tasks such as embroidery or sewing. Did you know the chinese valentine day ? Do you know other days of love that are celebrated in other countries? Share it with us! And do not forget that this year the chinese valentine day It will be on August 17!