About Chinese Valentines Day
Chinese Valentines Day falls on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month of the Chinese calendar that is normally in the month of August. It is also popularly known as Chinese Double Seven Festival. This ancient Chinese love story legend with earliest recorded reference started way back to 2600 years ago. The love story begins once the youngest daughter from seven sisters of the Goddess started to get bored living in heaven because her daily life was all related to weaving the colourful clouds in the sky together with her other sisters. Until one day, the weaving girl and her sisters decided to have a day off and come to earth to have some fun.
Here is where she came across a cowherd and fell in love him at the first sight. When her sisters decided that it’s time to return to heaven, the weaving girl was determined to get married with the cowherd. They led a happy life and were blessed with two lovely children. Annoyed by the behaviour of the couple, the Goddess sent her soldiers to capture the weaving girl back to heaven and so that she can return to her daily routine. The couple was so heartbroken and missed each other a lot.
However, once the weaving girl started her work, the clouds that she had woven were filled with sadness. At the same time, the cowherd’s old ox started to talk and he told the cowherd to kill him (the ox) so that he can use its fur and fly up to the heaven to be with his wife.
The cowherd took the ox advice and took along his children to fly to heaven. He managed to finally meet his wife, but was caught by the Goddess. The angered Goddess then took off her hairpin and stretched a river in the sky (the Milky Way) to prevent them from seeing each other forever.
The story ends with the Goddess showing a little forgiveness to her daughter by allowing them to see each other once a year, but only on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month where on this day all the magpies around the world would fly up into heaven to form a bridge enabling the reunion of the loving couple and their children.
Celebrating Chinese Valentine’s Day
In certain part of Chinese provinces, they celebrate Chinese Valentines Day with lovely decorated flowers on the ox’s horn to avoid them from encountering any disaster. On the eve of Valentines Day, Chinese women will wash their hair so that they will look fresh and shiny. You can also find children washing their face in the next morning of the Chinese Valentines Day using the overnight water from their backyard as they believe it can make them look much more natural in appearance.
Meanwhile, teenage girls will be throwing the five-colour ropes, made at Chinese Dragon Boat festival right on the roof of their house for magpies. The Chinese believed that the Magpies will carry ropes to build the bridge that helps the Weaving girl and Cowherd to meet in heaven.
Chinese Valentine’s Day Gifts
Celebrate this coming Chinese Valentine’s Day with any kind of gift to someone special. At the end of the day, the most important thing is the thought that counts. Special gifts stand as a clear statement of your love, care and affection shown for each other. Usually Chinese Valentines Day gifts are something that can adequately convey your true feelings. It should reflect your attention, something that is intimate and elegant for you as lovers to cherish not only now, but for years to come.
Traditionally, Chinese girls will make it a priority in decorating flowers, tea, melons and grapes as prayers to the weaving girl so that they can be bestowed with better husband. They also believe that by placing needles on the water and if it does not sink, the person is said to be mature and ready to look for a husband. Some may even go to a match-making temple to pray for a successful life in the future.