Today is 七夕节 (qī xī jié), the Double Seventh Festival held on the 7th day of the 7th month by the traditional Chinese solar-lunar calendar. This is often referred to as Chinese Valentine's Day (although they have taken up observing the February 14th western one, too!)
It is one of the few Chinese festivals with which no particular foods are attached, but I am 'celebrating' by snacking on spicy braised duck hearts!
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Here is the 2,000-year-old legend on which the festival is based.
QuoteNiulang was an orphan who lived with his brother and sister-in-law. He was often abused by his sister-in-law. They eventually kicked him out of the house, and gave him nothing but an old cow. One day, the old cow suddenly spoke out, telling Niulang that a fairy will come, and that she is the heavenly weaver. It said the fairy will stay here if she fails to go back to heaven before morning. In accordance with what the old cow said, Niulang saw the beautiful fairy and fell in love with her, then they got married. The emperor of heaven ( 'The Jade Emperor') found out about this and was furious, so he sent minions to escort the heavenly weaver back to heaven. Niulang was heartbroken and decided to chase after them. However, the Queen Mother of the West drew a Silver River (The Milky Way) in the sky and blocked his way. Meanwhile, the love between Niulang and the weaver moved the magpie, and they built a bridge of magpies over the Silver River for them to meet. The Emperor of Heaven was also moved by the sight, and allowed this couple to meet on the Magpie Bridg once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.
