International Relations: Chinese Valentine's Day, this Sat./Sun.
Submitted by Clearsky on August 16, 2007 - 10:28am.
Science, Astronomy, and
International People-to-people Relations:

Chinese Valentine's Day
2007: August 18th (19)

Celebrated on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month (in the Chinesecalendar, the Chinese Valentine's Day is a day of romance, love and passion.

There is a little love story attached to this day. It is a story of the 7th daughter of the Emperor of the Heaven and an orphaned cowherd:
----------------------------------------\
Chinese folk-lore story

"Long ago, there was a poor orphaned boy living with his elder brother and sister-in-law. After the demise of the parents, the elder brother inherited the house while the boy got only an old ox as his share in the parental property.

He was supposed to work on the fields every day with the ox. (The ox was actually an immortal from the heavens that was sent to the earth because of the mistakes he committed in the heaven.

On the other hand, the emperor's daughter was so good at weaving clothes that she was given the name of 'Weaving maid'.

One day 'ox' (the immortal) said to the boy that if he wanted to get married he should go to the brook.

The innocent boy went to the brook and found all the 7 daughters of the emperor of the heaven, taking a bath in the brook. He fell in love with the 7th fairy and hid her clothes secretly. When the 7th fairy asked him for her clothes back, he told her that she would have to marry him. The fairy agreed and they got married and had two children.

The ox died and told the boy to keep his hide for emergency purposes. On the other hand the emperor wanted his daughter back and hence asked the fairy's grandmother to bring her back.

When the grandmother was taking the 7th fairy to the heaven, the boy wore the hide of the ox, took his two children along and chased after his wife in the sky. To keep them separated the grandmother created a Milky Way with her hairpin.

So now the 7th fairy livs on the star Vega and the boy with their children lives on the star Altair.

It is said that these two lovers meet each other on the evening of the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, which came to be celebrated as the Chinese Valentine's Day.
------------------------------
(This year, 2007, it falls on August 18/19

Posted by

Clearsky