The origin of Valentine's Day in China is related to the folk story of Cowherd and Weaver Girl. Its earliest origin may be in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, such as The Book of Songs Dadong: "In autumn, the weaver girl has seven waves all day long. Although it is seven, it is not a service seal; You can't recognize the box when you look at the cow. " There is also Luo Qi's "The Source of Things" in the Ming Dynasty: "Chu Huaiwang first decides Tanabata."

However, Tanabata at that time was a sacrifice to Altair and Vega, and there was no story behind it. It was not until the Han Dynasty that its details were linked with the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, and it officially became a festival for women. For example, in "Pass" written by Ying Shao in the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was written: "The Weaver Girl will cross the river on Qixi to make the magpies overseas." Another example is "Miscellanies of Xijing": "Women in the Han Dynasty often wear seven-hole needles in Jinkailou on July 7, all of which are Xi."

Legend of Valentine's Day in China: Cowherd and Weaver Girl

The Milky Way ruthlessly separates the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, and they can only cry across the river. When the Queen Mother saw that they were crying, she was moved with compassion and ordered the magpie to send a message to let them meet every seven days. Who knows that the magpie was wrong and agreed to meet once a year on July 7. So, the Queen Mother punished Magpie because Magpie matched the bridge.

On the night of July in the lunar calendar, looking up at the starry night sky, people can see two bright stars on both sides of the Milky Way-Altair and Vega.

The love story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl is integrated into the Begging Festival, and all the folk girls believe it. So every seventh day of the seventh lunar month, when the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet at the "Queqiao Bridge", the girls will come to the flowers and look up at the stars, looking for the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl on both sides of the Milky Way, hoping to see their annual meeting, and praying to God that they will be as ingenious as the Weaver Girl, and that they will have a satisfactory and happy marriage in time.