节日英语：中国情人节（七夕）节日英语：ChineseValentine”sDayVALENTINE”SDayinChina,theseventhdayoftheseventhlunarmonth,fallsonAugust19thisyear.Thatis,onSundayevening,NiuLangandZhiNuwillmeetonabridgeofmagpies（鹊桥）acrosstheMilkyWay（银河）.Chinesegrannieswillremindchildrenthattheywouldnotbeabletoseeanymagpiesonthateveningbecauseallthemagpieshavelefttoformabridgeintheheavenswiththeirwings.RomanticlegendThelegendhasbeenhandeddownfornearly2millennia.Thestoryhasbeenrecordedasfarbackasthe激nDynasty(256-420AD).PoetscomposedhundredsofversesonthelovestoryandmanytypesofChineseoperatellthestory.TheChinesepeoplebelievethatthestarVega（织女星）,eastoftheMilkyWay,isZhiNuand,attheconstellationofAquila（天鹰座）,onthewesternsideoftheMilkyWay,NiuLangwaitsforhiswife.ZhiNuwassaidtobetheyoungestofsevendaughtersoftheQueenofHeaven.Withhersisters,sheworkedhardtoweavebeautifulcloudsinthesky,whileNiuLangwasapoororphancowherd,drivenoutofhishomebyhiselderbrotherandhiscruelwife.NiuLanglamentedoverhislonelyandpoorlifewithanoldcow,hisonlyfriendandcompanion.Themagicalcowkindlytoldhimofawaytofindabeautifulandnicewomanashislifecompanion.Underthedirectionofthecow,NiuLangwenttotheriversideonanevening,wherethesevenfairiesslippedoutoftheirheavenlypalacetobathe.Hetookoneofthebeautifulsilkdressesthefairieshadleftonthebank.Whenthefairiesleftthewater,theyoungestcouldn”tfindherclothesandhadtoseehersistersflybacktoheavenwithouther.ThenNiuLangcameoutwiththedressandaskedtheyoungestfairy,ZhiNu,tostaywithhim.SeveralyearspassedonEarth,whichwereonlyafewdaysinheaven.NiuLangandZhiNulivedhappilytogetherandhadtwochildrenbeforetheQueenofHeavendiscoveredZhiNu”sabsence.ShewassoannoyedshehadZhiNubroughtbacktoheaven.Seeinghisbelovedwifeflyinginthesky,NiuLangwasterrified.Hecaughtsightofthecowhidehangingonawall.Themagicalcowhadtoldhimbeforedyingofoldage:“Keepthecowhide（牛皮）foremergencyuse.“Puttingthecowhideon,hewentafterhiswifewithhistwochildren.Withthehelpofthecowhide,NiuLangwasabletofollowZhiNuintoheaven.HewasabouttoreachhiswifewhentheQueenshowedupandpulledoffherhairpintodrawalinebetweenthetwo.ThelinebecametheSilverRiverinheaven,ortheMilkyWay.ZhiNuwentbacktotheheavenlyworkshop,goingonweavingtheclouds.Butshewassosad,andmissedherhusbandacrosstheSilverRiversomuchthatthecloudssheweavedseemedsad.Finally,theQueenshowedalittlemercy,allowingthecoupletomeetonceeveryyearontheSilverRiver.Well-knownpoemOneofthemostfamouspoemsaboutthelegendwaswrittenbyQinGuanofintheSongDynasty(960-1279).FairyOfTheMagpieBridgeAmongthebeautifulclouds,Overtheheavenlyriver,Crossestheweavingmaiden.Anightofrendezvous,Acrosstheautumnsky.Surpassesjoyonearth.Momentsoftenderloveanddream,Sosadtoleavethemagpiebridge.Eternallovebetweenustwo,Shallwithstandthetimeapart.(TranslatedbyKylieHsu)鹊桥仙宋·秦观织云弄巧飞星传恨银汉迢迢暗度金风玉露一相逢便胜却人间很多柔情似水佳期如梦忍顾鹊桥归路两情若是久长时又岂在朝朝暮暮ComparedwithlovestoriesinWesternlegends,thestoryofNiuLangandZhiNuseemsnotasintenseorpassionate.Lovedoesn”tkillorbreakupthebarrierbetweenthem.Theyjustwaitpatientlyontheriverbank,believingthattheirlovecanwithstandtheirtimeapart.ItisfaithandemotionalliaisoninsteadofphysicalattractionanddesirethatisemphasizedinthestoryaswellasinmanyotherChinesefolktales（民间故事）aboutlove.InonlyafewChinesefolklovestoriescanbefoundadescriptionofthephysicalappearancesoftheheroandheroine.Inthe“ButterflyLovers“,theheroine,dressedasaboytoattendschool,fallsinlovewithaclassmate.Aftertheyhavelivedtogetherasclassmatesforyears,theherodidnothavetheslightestcluethathisbestfriendisactuallyagirl!ChineseceremoniesTheseventhdayoftheseventhlunarmonthistheonlyChinesefestivaldevotedtoloveintheLunarcalendar.UnlikeSt.Valentine”sDayinWesterncountriesthereisnotsomuchemphasisongivingchocolates,flowersandkisses.Instead,Chinesegirlspreparefruits,melonsandincense（熏香）asofferingstoZhiNu,theweavingmaiden,prayingtoacquirehighskillsinneedlecraft（裁缝）,aswellashopingtofindsatisfactoryhusbands.Intheevening,peoplesitoutdoorstoobservethestars.Chinesegrannieswouldsaythat,ifyoustandunderagrapevine,youcanprobablyoverhearwhatZhiNuandNiuLangaretalkingabout.
