Raise your head on August 4 and gaze at the stars, you will find something romantic going on in the sky.

    VALENTINE''S Day in China, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, falls on August 4 this year.

    That is, on Monday evening, Niu Lang and Zhi Nu will meet on a bridge of magpies（鵲橋） across the Milky Way（銀河）. Chinese grannies will remind children that they would not be able to see any magpies on that evening because all the magpies have left to form a bridge in the heavens with their wings.

    Romantic legend

    The legend has been handed down for nearly 2 millennia. The story has been recorded as far back as the Jin Dynasty （256-420 AD）. Poets composed hundreds of verses on the love story and many types of Chinese opera tell the story.

    The Chinese people believe that the star Vega（織女星）, east of the Milky Way, is Zhi Nu and, at the constellation of Aquila（天鷹座）, on the western side of the Milky Way, Niu Lang waits for his wife.

    Zhi Nu was said to be the youngest of seven daughters of the Queen of Heaven. With her sisters, she worked hard to weave beautiful clouds in the sky, while Niu Lang was a poor orphan cowherd, driven out of his home by his elder brother and his cruel wife.

    Niu Lang lamented over his lonely and poor life with an old cow, his only friend and companion. The magical cow kindly told him of a way to find a beautiful and nice woman as his life companion.

    Under the direction of the cow, Niu Lang went to the riverside on an evening, where the seven fairies slipped out of their heavenly palace to bathe.

    He took one of the beautiful silk dresses the fairies had left on the bank. When the fairies left the water, the youngest couldn''t find her clothes and had to see her sisters fly back to heaven without her.

    Then Niu Lang came out with the dress and asked the youngest fairy, Zhi Nu, to stay with him.

    Several years passed on Earth, which were only a few days in heaven. Niu Lang and Zhi Nu lived happily together and had two children before the Queen of Heaven discovered Zhi Nu''s absence.

    She was so annoyed she had Zhi Nu brought back to heaven. Seeing his beloved wife flying in the sky, Niu Lang was terrified. He caught sight of the cowhide hanging on a wall. The magical cow had told him before dying of old age: "Keep the cowhide（牛皮） for emergency use."

    Putting the cowhide on, he went after his wife with his two children.

    With the help of the cowhide, Niu Lang was able to follow Zhi Nu into heaven. He was about to reach his wife when the Queen showed up and pulled off her hairpin to draw a line between the two. The line became the Silver River in heaven, or the Milky Way.

    Zhi Nu went back to the heavenly workshop, going on weaving the clouds. But she was so sad, and missed her husband across the Silver River so much that the clouds she weaved seemed sad. Finally, the Queen showed a little mercy, allowing the couple to meet once every year on the Silver River

    很久以前，有一個跟著哥嫂過活的孤兒，既聰明又勤快，可嫂嫂仍嫌棄他，天不亮就趕他上山放牛，大家都叫他牛郎。幾年后，哥嫂和牛郎分了家，狼心的嫂嫂只給他一間破茅房、一頭老牛。從此，牛郎白天放牛、砍柴，晚上就和老牛同睡在那間破茅房內。一天，牛郎趕牛走進了一片陌生的樹林，這里山青水秀、鳥語花香。牛郎見到九個仙女駕著祥云落在河的草地上，然后脫去五彩霓裳，跳進清澈見底的河水里，牛郎盯著一個最年輕是美麗的仙女看入了神，這時老牛突然說話了："她是天上的織女，只要拿走五彩霓裳，她就會做你的妻子。"牛郎悄悄地沿著樹從，悄悄拿走了織女的五彩霓裳。天近午時，其他仙女紛紛穿起五彩霓裳，駕著祥云而去。唯獨找不到五彩霓裳的織女留下了。這時，牛郎從樹后走出，請求織女做他的妻子。織女見牛郎忠厚老實，勤勞健壯，便脈脈含羞地點了點頭。牛郎織女喜結良緣后，男耕女織，互敬互愛。兩年后，織女生下一男一女。然而天帝聞知織女下嫁人間，勃然大怒。七月初七，王母奉旨帶著天兵天將捉了織女。悲痛欲絕的牛郎在老牛的幫助下，用蘿筐挑著兒女追上天去。眼看追上了，王母拔下金簪一劃，牛郎腳下立刻出現一條波濤洶涌的天河。肝腸寸斷的織女和肩挑兒女的牛郎，一個在河東一個在河西，遙望對泣。哭聲感動了喜鵲，霎時無數的喜鵲飛向天河，搭起一座鵲橋，牛郎織女終于可以在鵲橋上相會了。王母無奈，只好允許牛郎織女每年的七月初七在橋上相會一次。

    當然，這只是個傳說。乞巧的儀式源自古代織女桑神的原始信仰。這種信仰結合了牛郎織女每年七月七日相會的說法，成了我們今時今日的七夕七巧民間信仰。

    在我國，農歷七月初七，人們俗稱"七夕節",也有人稱之為"乞巧節"或"女兒節",這是中國傳統節日中最具浪漫色彩的一個節日，也是過去姑娘們最為重視的日子。其實不僅僅是漢族，壯族、滿族、朝鮮族等也有過"七夕節"的習俗。不過，隨著西方"情人節"流入中土，"七夕節"逐漸又被人稱為中國的"情人節".然而她在年輕人中的影響力，卻遠不及每年陽歷2月14日的西方"情人節".不光如此，象這樣歷史悠久且文化內涵深厚、有如此美麗傳說的節日，竟越來越不受社會重視，越來越受冷落，是世界變化得太快？還是節日不夠現代跟不上時代？牛郎織女難道真的會被中國人遺棄嗎？"七夕節"受冷落迫使我們的目光又聚焦到中國傳統節日的興衰上。農歷七月初七--七夕節

    民間愛情傳說之一的牛郎織女的故事。

    七夕節始終和牛郎織女的傳說相連，這是一個很美麗，千古流傳的愛情故事，是我國四大民間愛情傳說之一。

    相傳在很早以前，南陽城西牛家莊里有個聰明、忠厚的小伙子，父母早亡，只好跟著哥哥嫂子度日，嫂子馬氏為人狠毒，經常虐待他，逼他干很多的活，一年秋天，嫂子逼他去放牛，給他九頭牛，卻讓他等有了十頭牛時才能回家，牛郎無奈只好趕著牛出了村。

    ……

    一天，天上的織女和諸仙女一起下凡游戲，在河里洗澡，牛郎在老牛的幫助下認識了織女，二人互生情意，后來織女便偷偷下凡，來到人間，做了牛郎的妻子。織女還把從天上帶來的天蠶分給大家，并教大家養蠶，抽絲，織出又光又亮的綢緞。

    牛郎和織女結婚后，男耕女織，情深意重，他們生了一男一女兩個孩子，一家人生活得很幸福。但是好景不長，這事很快便讓天帝知道，王母娘娘親自下凡來，強行把織女帶回天上，恩愛夫妻被拆散。

    牛郎上天無路，還是老牛告訴牛郎，在它死后，可以用它的皮做成鞋，穿著就可以上天。牛郎按照老牛的話做了，穿上牛皮做的鞋，拉著自己的兒女，一起騰云駕霧上天去追織女，眼見就要追到了，豈知王母娘娘拔下頭上的金簪一揮，一道波濤洶涌的天河就出現了，牛郎和織女被隔在兩岸，只能相對哭泣流淚。他們的忠貞愛情感動了喜鵲，千萬只喜鵲飛來，搭成鵲橋，讓牛郎織女走上鵲橋相會，王母娘娘對此也無奈，只好允許兩人在每年七月七日于鵲橋相會。

    后來，每到農歷七月初七，相傳牛郎織女鵲橋相會的日子，姑娘們就會來到花前月下，抬頭仰望星空，尋找銀河兩邊的牛郎星和織女星，希望能看到他們一年一度的相會，乞求上天能讓自己能象織女那樣心靈手巧，祈禱自己能有如意稱心的美滿婚姻，由此形成了七夕節。