七夕节 Chinese Valentine‘s Day 的由来

农历七月初七是七夕节。Qixi Festival falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

以前有一个牛郎，和他的哥哥和嫂子住在一起。他放的一头牛曾经是天庭的一个神仙，但他违反天庭的戒律，变成牛放到了人间。As the story goes,once there was a cowherd, Niulang,who lived with his elder brother and sister-in-law. The cow, however,was a former god who had violated imperial rules and was sent to earth.

一天，这个神牛把牛郎带到了湖边，在那里，天上的仙女们正在洗澡，其中的一个是织女，她是最漂亮的仙女，多才多艺。他们一见钟情，很快就结了婚。他们有一个儿子和女儿。One day the cow led Niulang to a lake where fairies took a bath on earth. Among them was Zhinu, the most beautiful fairy and a skilled. The two fell in love at first sight and were soon married. They had a son and daughter.

然而，在玉皇大帝眼中，凡人与仙女之间的婚姻是不允许的。他派王母娘娘去把织女接回来Yet in the eyes of the Jade Emperor, marriage between a mortal and fairy was strictly forbidden. He sent the empress to fetch Zhinu.

当牛郎发现织女被 带回到天庭时，他变得非常绝望。看到牛郎的遭遇，这只神牛告诉牛郎在他死后可以把它的牛皮变成鞋。Niulang grew desperate when he discovered Zhinu had been taken back to heaven. Driven by Niulang's misery, the cow told him to turn its hide into a pair of shoes after it died.

这双神奇的鞋子带着牛郎和他身后扁担里背着的两个孩子去追王母娘娘。The magic shoes sent Niulang,who carried his two children in baskets strung from a shoulder pole, off on a chase after the empress.

这激怒了王母娘娘，她拿起她的发夹，在空中划了一下，形成了一道银河，这道银河把这对夫妻给分开了。The pursuit enraged the empress, wwho took her hairpin and slashed it across the sky creating the Milky Way whick separated husband from wife.

后来在银河中出现了一座鹊桥，让这一家人团聚。A bridge was formed by magpies across the Milky Way to reunite the family.

就连玉皇大帝也被 感动了，并允许牛郎和织女在第7 个月的第7个晚上相会一次。Even the Jade Emperor was touched, and allowed Niulang and Zhinu to meet once a year on the seventh night of the seventh month.

这就是七夕的由来。这个节日可以追溯到汉代。This is how Qixi came to be. The festival can be traced back to/dates back to the Han Dynasty.

《迢迢牵牛星》

迢迢牵牛星，皎皎河汉女。

纤纤擢素手，札札弄机杼。

终日不成章，泣涕零如雨。

河汉清且浅，相去复几许。

盈盈一水间，脉脉不得语。

Far,far away, the Cowherd,Fair,fair,the Weaving Maid;

Nimbly move her slender white fingers,Click-clack goes her weaving-loom.

all day she weaves,yet her web is still not done.And her tears fall like rain.

Clear and shallow the Milky Way,They are not far apart!

But the stream brims always between.And, gazing at each other,they cannot speak.