七夕节

中国文化篇 7.The Qixi Festival(七タ节) The Qixi Festival,also known as the Queqiao Festival,is a traditional Chinese festival celebrating the annual meeting of the cowherd and the weaver girl in mythology."Qi" means seven in Chinese,and"Xi" means night in Chinese,so "Qixi" points out that the cowherd and the weaver maid meet with each other on the night of seventh day of the seventh month on the Chinese lunar calendar every year, so Qixi Festival is also called Double Seventh Festival.The festival originated from the romantic legend of two lovers,Zhinü and Niulang,who were the weaver girl and the cowherd, respectively.The tale of The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl has been celebrated in the Qixi Festival since the Han dynasty.The earliest-known reference to this famous myth dates back to over 2600 years ago,which was told in a poem from the Classic of Poetry.Contemporarily,the Qixi Festival has been given the cultural meaning of Chinese Valentine's Day, because the love tale of the cowherd and the weaver maid has made the Qixi Festival become a symbol of love.