The Double Seventh Festival, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, is a traditional festival full of romance. This day is also known as “The Begging Festival” or “The Daughter’s Festival.” In ancient times, it is an important day for girls. It often goes into August in the Gregorian calendar.
This festival is in mid-summer when the weather is warm and the grass and trees reveal their luxurious① greens. At bright summer night when the sky is dotted with stars, people can see the Milky Way spanning from the north to the south. On each bank of it is a bright star, which sees each other from afar. They are Niu Lang and Weaver Maid, and about them there is a beautiful love story passed down from generation to generation.
Long, long ago, there was an honest and kind-hearted fellow named Niu Lang (Cowherd). His parents died when he was a child. Then he lived with his elder brother and sister-in-law who was vicious and evil-minded. She always maltreated② Niu Lang and compelled him to do much housework. Later Niu Lang was driven out of his home by his sister-in-law. He just took away an old ox, and had to work on the farm fields his everyday.
One day, the old ox suddenly said to Niu Lang:“You are a nice person. If you want to get married, go to the brook and your wish will come true.” Niu Lang went to the brook and saw the seven pretty fairies come down from the heaven to take a bath. Then Niu Lang picked one red fairy clothes by following the old ox’s instruction and ran to a nearby place, wondering what would happen later. When the other six fairies went away after the bath, the youngest could not fly back to the heaven without her fairy clothes. For there was no time left, the six elder sisters went back, leaving the youngest and the most beautiful one. After seeing the other fairies flying back to the heaven, Niu Lang appeared holding the red fairy clothes, and told the youngest fairy whose name is Zhi Nu (Weaver Maid) what he had done and the reason for that explicitly③. Then he asked Zhi Nu whether she would marry him. After a slight hesitation, Zhi Nu agreed to be his wife, and then the couple was married. The Cowherd farmed in the field and the Weaver Maid wove at home. They lived a happy life and gave birth to a boy and a girl.
Unfortunately, the God of Heaven soon found out the fact and ordered the Queen Mother to bring the Weaver Maid back. The Cowherd couldn’t fly to the heaven and the two children kept crying for missing their mother. Then Niu Lang reminded of the dead ox which was actually a mortal from heaven, but made mistakes and was reincarnated④ as an ox to toil on earth. The celestial ox had told Niu Lang to take off its skin after it died which could help him fly to the heaven. Therefore, Niu Lang wore the celestial cattle’s skin, and put the children into two bamboo baskets to chase after his love.
