导读:七夕将至，你真的了解七夕么？

Falling on the seventh day of seventh lunar month, the Double Seventh Festival in China, also known as Qixi Festival, is what Valentine’s Day to the western countries. As it is a day of great importance to girls, the event is also called Young Girls’ Festival. Because of the beautiful legend about Niu Lang and Zhi Nu, the festival has been endowed with the meaning of great romance.

中国农历的“双七”，即农历七月初七就是七夕节，相当于西方国家的情人节。由于这一天对女孩来说很重要，所以这个活动也被称为少女节。因为关于牛郎和织女的美丽传说，这个节日被赋予了伟大的浪漫意义。

Legend of Niu Lang and Zhi Nu

牛郎和织女的传说

As one of the Chinese four folk legends concerning love, the legend of Niu Lang and Zhi Nu features the Double Seventh Festival.

作为中国四大民间传说之一，牛郎和织女的传说是七夕节的特色。

It is said that Niu Lang was a cowboy who had a kind heart even though he was without living parents. Living with his brother and brother-in-law, he was maltreated. One day, after having been driven out of his home, an old man (in fact a supernatural being), guided him to the sick cattle from heaven. With great care from Niu Lang, the cattle recovered. In order to show gratitude to Niu Lang, the cow helped him get acquainted with Zhi Nu - a fairy from the heaven. They fell in love with each other and married to live a happy life with Niu Lang planting in the field while Zhi Nu did weaving at home. They were also magically given a boy and a girl. However, good times didn’t last long because Zhi Nu’s deeds were known by the king of the heaven who took her back to heaven. With the cow’s help, Niu Lang flew to heaven along with his two children as they chased their wife and mother. It was just at that moment before he could reach Zhi Nu that the queen of the heaven created a huge river between them. Tears from the two flowed continuously so that even the queen was moved. As a result, she allowed them to meet only on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month every year.

据说牛郎是一个没有父母但心地善良的放牛娃。他和他的兄弟和姐夫住在一起，但整天受到虐待。有一天，他被赶出家门，一个老人(实际上是一个神仙)把他带到了天上的一头病牛那里。这头病牛从牛郎那里得到悉心的照顾。为了表达对牛郎的感激之情，这头老牛帮助他认识了“仙女”。他们彼此相爱并结为夫妻，牛郎上山种地，织女在家织布，他们幸福的生活着。他们还神奇地生下了一名男孩和一名女孩。然而，幸福时光并没有持续太久，因为他们的事被王母知道了，她就把织女带回了天上。在老牛的帮助下，牛郎和他的两个孩子飞到天上追他们的妻子和母亲。就在他要追上织女的那一刻，王母在他们之间画出一条大河使他们无法相见。两个人隔河相望彼此痛哭流涕，最后甚至王母也被感动了。因此，她允许他们每年在农历七月初七见面。

Therefore, the day that Niu Lang and Zhi Nu meet is the present Double Seventh Festival.

因此，牛郎和织女见面的日子就是现在的七夕节。

Customs

习俗

While the customs of this festival varies according to the different regions, the same hope is cherished by all.

虽然这个节日的习俗因不同的地区而不同，但人们都抱有同样的期望。

The most prevalent custom is that of girls praying to Zhi Nu for skillful hands for sewing. Because Zhi Nu is regarded as a beautiful woman deft at weaving, in the evening of the festival, girls sew some articles to compete with each other and prepare some delicious fruits to worship Zhi Nu in order to be endowed with the masterly sewing skill. Not only hoping for this skill, they also pray to have a sweet love.

最流行的习俗是女孩们向织女祈祷获得一双巧手。因为织女被认为是一个美丽的女人，在这个节日的晚上，女孩们会缝纫一些物品来互相比赛，并准备一些美味的水果来祭拜织女，以获得精湛的缝纫技巧。他们不仅希望能够拥有一手好缝纫，还祈祷自己能够有一份甜蜜的爱情。

In the rural regions, people usually see the meeting of Niu Lang and Zhi Nu as two stars in the sky. At the same time, the old people tell the young about this old love legend. Unfortunately, this is not popular in cities nowadays.

在农村地区，人们通常把牛郎和织女的会面看成是天上的两颗星星。与此同时，老人告诉年轻人这个古老的爱情传说。不幸的是，这在现代城市已经不太流行了。

Today’s Double Seventh Festival

现在的七夕

In the Chinese cities, the Western Valentine’s Day is more favored than the Double Seventh Festival by young people. They spend the latter as the Valentine’s Day. Although some traditional customs have been changed or been lost, the legend of Niu Lang and Zhi Nu is still passed down from generation to generation. Like the presents of Valentine’s Day, flowers and chocolates are also the popular ones.

在中国城市里，西方的情人节在年轻人眼中比七夕节更受欢迎。他们把七夕作为情人节。虽然一些传统习俗已经被改变或消失了，但牛郎和芝女的传说仍然代代相传。就像情人节的礼物一样，鲜花和巧克力在七夕也是最受欢迎的。

Whatever way the festival is spent, great love is expressed between the young.

不管节日是怎么度过的，都体现出年轻人之间的美好爱情。

（来源：爱语吧）