DoubleSeventhDay——ChineseValentine’sDayLiJunCowhertStarWeavingGirlStarMilkyWayOnthenightofthe7thdayofthe7thlunarmontheveryyear,theymeetattheMagpieBridgeforashorttime.OutlineIntroductionTheoriginoftheDoubleSeventhDayLegendabouttheDoubleSeventhDayFolkCustomsontheDoubleSeventhDayIntroductionAtraditionalfestivalfullofromanceThe7thdayofthe7thlunarmonthTheWeavingGirl(织女)andtheCowherd(牛郎)inheavenwouldmeetattheMagpieBridgeAlsocalledBegging-for-DexterityFestival(乞巧节)(TheWeavingGirlisabeautifulandsmartfairywithdefthandsandthewomeninthemortalworldwillbegforintelligenceanddeftneedleworkfromher)TheOriginoftheDoubleSeventhDayoriginatingfromnatureworshipofthehumanraceDouble-SeventhDaywasalsotheproductoftimeworshipoftheancients——thenumber七appearsinbothmonthanddaygivingastrongsenseoftime.TheOriginoftheDoubleSeventhDayDoubleSeventhDayisalsoaphenomenonofnumberworship——七bearsthesamepronunciationwith妻(wife),thustheDoubleSeventhDayistoagreatextentafestivalrelatedtowomen.LegendabouttheDoubleSeventhDay–theCowherdandtheWeavingGirlThefairytaleoftheCowherdandtheWeavingGirlisoneofthefourmostfamousfolktalesofancientChina.Itisaclassiclovestorybetweenafairyandahumanbeingenjoyingawidespreadinfluence.LegendabouttheDoubleSeventhDay–theCowherdandtheWeavingGirlLonglongago,therewasaverypoorbutclever,diligentandhonestboynamedCowherd.Hisparentsdiedwhenhewasachild.Laterhewasdrivenoutofhishomebyhissister-in-law.Buthiscattleisveryloyaltohim.LegendabouttheDoubleSeventhDay–theCowherdandtheWeavingGirlTheWeavingGirlisabeautifulandsmartfairywithdefthands.Shehadgrowntiredofthelifeattheheavenlypalace,longedforalifeamongthecommonpeople.LegendabouttheDoubleSeventhDay–theCowherdandtheWeavingGirlThecattlegavetheCowherdatip:takethefairy’sclotheswhensheistakingabath,thenshecan’tgobacktotheheavenlypalace.LegendabouttheDoubleSeventhDay–theCowherdandtheWeavingGirlTheyfellinlovewitheachotherandlivedahappylife.LegendabouttheDoubleSeventhDay–theCowherdandtheWeavingGirlUnfortunately,thefactthattheyhavefellinlovewasfoundoutsoonTheQueenMotherofbroughttheWeavingGirlbackanddrewabigriveracrossthesky,knowntotheChineseastheSilveryRiver(theMilkyWayintheWest),todriveawedgebetweenthem.LegendabouttheDoubleSeventhDay–theCowherdandtheWeavingGirlHowever,allthemagpiesintheworld,deeplytouchedbythestory,cametotheirrescue.Everyyearontheseventhdayoftheseventhmonth,theywouldflocktogethertoformabridgesothattheCowherdandtheWeavingGirlcouldenjoyabriefreunion.LegendabouttheDoubleSeventhDay–theCowherdandtheWeavingGirlThisstory,tosomeextent,reflectsChinesepeople'swishestopursuethefreedomofloveandmarriage.LegendabouttheDoubleSeventhDay–theCowherdandtheWeavingGirlThefairytalealsocontainsChinesepeople'sunderstandingaboutstarimages.Inthetale,theWeavingGirlStar(theVega)isthebrighteststarintheconstellationLyra,facingtheCowherdStar(theAltair),thebrighteststarintheconstellationAquila,acrosstheMilkyWay.LegendabouttheDoubleSeventhDay–theCowherdandtheWeavingGirlOntheseventhdayoftheseventhmonthofthelunarcalendareveryyear,Chinesewomencustomarilylookupintothenightsky,searchingfortheWeavingGirlStarandtheCowherdStaronbothsidesoftheMilkyWayandhopingtoseetheirannualgathering.Meanwhile,girlsonthegroundhopetohavecleverhandsandgoodsense,justliketheWeavingGirl.Theyalsoprayforahappymarriageoftheirown.FolkCustomsontheDoubleSeventhDay-Ingenuitytestbyfloatingneedle(投针验巧)Ingenuitytestbyfloatingneedleisoneofthecommoncustomsonthefestival.Putsomewaterinavesselandleaveitintheopenairuntilitiscoveredbyafilmofdust.Thencastaneedleorthinstrawonittoseethepatternoftheshadowatthebottom,soastotesttheiringenuityFolkCustomsontheDoubleSeventhDay-PleadingforSkillsbyThreadingaNeedleInordertopleadforskills,threadinganeedle(穿针乞巧)isthemostlong-standingmeans.Itteststhespeedofthreadinganeedleunderthemoon.Itissaidthattheneedlesusedinthecontestaretheseven-holeneedleoftheHanDynastyorthenine-tailneedleoftheYuanDynasty.Withmoreholesthanordinaryneedles,theyareratherhardtohandle.FolkCustomsontheDoubleSeventhDay-CobwebastheDeterminant(喜蛛应巧)Pleadingforskillswithcobwebisanothercommoncustominthefestival,inwhicheverybodyputsaspiderintoalocketandwaitsuntilthenextmorningtoseeifthereiscobwebandifany,howitlooks.Theonewithamostroundcobwebofthemostmeshwillbethewinner.FolkCustomsontheDoubleSeventhDay-Qiaoguo(巧果)Qiaoguo(FriedThinPastes)isindifferentshapeswiththematerialsmostlybeingoil,flour,sugarandhoney.ThedefthandswillnipthemintoallshapesrelatedtothelegendoftheFestival.Themelonsandfruitsusedonthedayareusuallycarvedintotheshapesofflowersandbirds,orcarvedwithpatternsinreliefonthemelonpeel,whicharethereforecalled“carvedmelons”THANKYOU!!!