Chinese Valentine's Day or Qi Xi Jie 牛郎織女

The Qi Xi Jie occurs on the 7th Day of the 7th Month of the lunar year.

in 2008, Qixi Jie occurs on August 8,2008

In 2007, Qi Xi Jie occurs on August 19,2007.
In 2006, it fell on July 31, 2006.
Because 2006 is a leap year with 7-th month being the leap month; So there was a second Qi Xi on August 30, 2006
Last time this happened was 35 years ago.

In 2005, it occured on August 11, 2005 In 2004, it was August 22. The Story of Chinese Valentine's Day

The Story about the Lovers and the stars

Another description

The 10th poem in the "Collection of 19 Old Poems" from the Han Dynasty:

(See Source)

Wikipedia DE

Qixi

Das chinesische Fest "Qixi" (七夕) f?llt auf den Abend des 7. Tages des 7. Monats nach dem chinesischen Mondkalender (chinesischer Kalender). Es ist das chinesische Fest der Liebenden, ein chinesisches Pendant zum westlichen Valentinstag.

Nach der Legende ist das der Abend, an dem zwei Liebende, n?mlich der Hirtenjunge (牛郎, Pinyin: niúláng) und das Weberm?dchen (織女, Pinyin: zhīnǚ), zwei am Himmel durch die Milchstra?e getrennte Sterne, (Altair und Wega,) für eine Nacht zusammen sein k?nnen.

In Japan hei?t das entsprechende Fest Tanabata und wird nach dem westlichen Kalender am 7. Juli gefeiert.

中文: 七夕
日本語: 七夕
English: Qi Qiao Jie
Kategorie:Chinesischer Kalender

The Chinese Valentines Day Story

As any Chinese grandmother will tell you, the ancient celebration of true love dates back centuries when Zhinu (織女 Weaving Girl) fell in love with a young farmer named Niulang 牛郎. Sadly, there is a classic complication - our heroine is the granddaughter of the Lady Queen Mother!

Even though the law strictly forbids relationships between mortals and immortals, the rebellious young couple fall in love and eventually marry anyway - when the unthinkable happens. Upon the discovery of their relationship, the Lady Queen Mother forces Zhinu to return to heaven, never to see Niulang again.

Steadfast and true, Niulang refuses to give up. He flies to Zhinu's side (with the help of a magic ox) only to have the Lady Queen Mother step in once again. She uses a hairpin to draw the Milky Way across the sky to separate the couple forever.

And there Zhinu and Niulang remain, separated for 364 days of the year - except for Chinese Valenine's Day - when the Lady Queen Mother takes pity on them by sending a flock of magpies to bridge the gap between the lovers and reunite them.

Today, on Chinese Valentine's Day, school children are asked to search the heavens where Zhinu can be found in the star Vega east of the Milky Way, and for her beloved Niulang, who steadfastly waits for her in the constellation Aquila, west of the Milky Way.

According to legend, on Chinese Valentines Day magpies can scarcely be seen, since they are spreading their wings to form the bridge in the heavens to reunite the couple once again. The evening of Chinese Valentine's Day is traditionally reserved for star gazing, and the classic retelling of the tale of Zhinu and Niulang ....