Chinese Valentine's Day is the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese calendar, which falls on August 4th this year. Legend has it that the seventh daughter of Emperor of Heaven, a weaving maid, fell in love and married a cowherd. They were so in love that they have forgotten the rest of their lives and did not carry out their farming and weaving duties, which angered the Jade Emperor. Li exiled opposite sides of the Silver River (Milky Way), and permits only to meet once a year, the night of the seventh day of the seventh month.
This legend has been passed down for nearly two millennia. The Chinese people believe that the star Vega, east of the Milky Way, is Zhi Nu, and Altair, on the western side of the Milky Way, Niu Lang was waiting for his wife.
The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is the only festival dedicated to love in Chinese lunar calendar. Chinese Valentine's Day traditions abound, and this special day is celebrated in different ways according to the Chinese province.
Some of the many traditions are Chinese girls prepare fruits, melons and incense as offerings to Zhi Nu, the weaving maiden, praying to acquire high skills in needlecraft, as well as hoping to find satisfactory husbands. Girls sewing needles placed on the water. If the needle does not sink, it is a sign of maturity and intelligence of the girl and she is ready and eligible to find a husband.
People in some Chinese provinces believe that decorate the horns of the oxen with flowers will save them from disaster. Another tradition is for women to wash their hair to make it look fresh and bright.
The Chinese Valentine's Day, young lovers go to the temple of Matchmaker and pray for their love and happiness, and their possible marriage in China. In the evening, people sit outside to watch the stars. On this night, Altair and Vega are closest at any other time of year. Chinese grandmothers say that if you're under a screw, you can probably hear what Zhi Nu and Niu Lang are saying to each other.
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