“七夕”——中国的情人节 农历七月初七（2006年是7月31日）是中国的传统节日——“七夕”。“夕”的意思是“夜”。为什么七夕是中国的情人节呢？这有一个关于牛郎和织女的动人故事。 传说，牛郎是人间的青年农民，救过一头神牛。织女是天上王母娘娘的孙女，有一天，天上的织女们来到人间游玩，还跑到河里洗澡，那头神牛让牛郎拿走了第七个织女的衣服。织女在寻找衣服的过程中爱上了牛郎，他们结为夫妻，男耕女织，过着幸福的生活。王母娘娘知道了这件事，非常生气，强迫织女跟她回到天上。牛郎追了上来，眼看着就要追上了，王母娘娘拔下头上的银簪子在身后划了一下，立刻，牛郎与织女之间出现了一条大河，这就是天上的银河，也就是西方所说的“奶路”(Milky Way)。结果牛郎和织女无情地隔开。后来，他们的爱情感动了喜鹊，每年七夕，所有的喜鹊都飞过来，在银河上搭起一座桥，让牛郎和织女在鹊桥相会。 人们根据这个故事把银河两边两颗很亮的星星命名为“牵牛/牛郎星”和“织女星”，织女星旁边的两颗不太亮的星星被认为是牛郎和织女的两个孩子。七夕晚上坐在院子里看牵牛星和织女星，成为中国民间的独特习俗。晴朗的夏末之夜，可以看见牵牛星和织女星隔着白茫茫的银河遥遥相望。女孩们在这天晚上，对着朗朗明月，朝天祭拜，祈求能遇上称心如意的情人。 七夕那天，中国民间还有放荷花灯的传统习俗。夜幕降临的时候，江上、河面、湖中、池塘里，处处可见青年男女们投放的盏盏荷花灯。灯儿带着他们对美满婚姻的期盼和憧憬，在水上缓缓漂移。此时，天上的繁星、水中的荷花灯、月色灯影下的有情人构成了人间绝美的风景！ 织女是个美丽聪明、心灵手巧的仙女，能织出像彩霞一般绚丽的锦缎。人间的女孩儿们为了使自己也能拥有织女一样的巧手，七夕晚上，她们拿着丝线，对着月光穿针，谁先穿过谁的手就最巧。也有的女孩，遥望织女星，祈求织女带给她们聪慧和灵巧。所以，七夕节又叫“乞巧节”、“女儿节”。 现在，七夕仍然是一个富有浪漫色彩的节日。在中国，不同地区的习俗也不太一样，有些传统活动已经逐渐消失，只有牛郎织女的爱情故事一直流传。 Seventh Eve—Chinese Valentine‟s Day The 7th evening of the 7th moon of the Lunar Calendar, which falls on the 31st of July in 2006, is a traditional Chinese festival called Qixi ‘Seventh Eve‟. Why is the Seventh Eve considered Valentine‟s Day for the Chinese? The answer leads us to a touching fairy tale of Niu Lang, the Cowherd and Zhi Nü, the Weaver Girl. In the fairy tale the Cowherd was a young farmer who had once rescued a holy cow, and the Weaver Girl was one of the granddaughters of Wang Mu Niangniang, Queen Mother of Heaven. One day, all the weaver girls in heaven descended on earth for a visit. While they were bathing in a river, the holy cow persuaded the Cowherd to take away the clothes of the seventh weaver girl. In the process of searching for her clothes, the Weaver Girl fell in love with the Cowherd and they became husband and wife. The cowherd worked in the fields while the Weaver Girl weaved at home, and they led a happy life. When Queen Mother of Heaven learnt this, she was enraged and forced the Weaver Girl to go back to heaven. The Cowherd ran after them. Just as he was about to catch up with them, Queen Mother of Heaven, removed her silver hairpin and draw a line with it behind her. Immediately, a huge river appeared between the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. This river, which is created with a silver hairpin, is then called Yin He „the Silver River‟, known in the West as the Milky Way. As a result the Cowherd and the Waver Girl were ruthlessly separated. Eventually, their love moved the magpies. On the seventh even of the seventh moon, all the magpies would flock together to form a bridge over the Silver River so that the couple were able to meet each other on the bridge. On the basis of this fairy tale, people name two very bright stars opposite each other across the Milky Way the Cowherd (the Altair) and the Weaver Girl (the Vega). The two less bright stars flanking the Vega are regarded as the children of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. To sit in the courtyard on Seventh Eve to watch the Cowherd and Weaver Girl stars has become a unique custom in the Chinese popular culture. On a clear late summer night, the two stars can be seen facing each other across the broad silvery Milky Way. On this night, girls will face the bright moon and pray to heaven for a lover that can satisfy her heart‟s desire. Another Chinese custom on Seventh Eve is to release lotus lanterns on water. As darkness falls, surfaces of rivers, lakes, and ponds are dotted with the lanterns that young men and women have released. The lanterns move slowly on the water, carrying with them the longings of young men and women for a perfect marriage. Under these circumstances, the sparkling stars in the sky, the lotus lanterns in the water, and the lovers in the moonlight or in the light of the lanterns together form the most beautiful and romantic scene on Earth! The Weaver Girl was a beautiful, clever and handy fairy who was capable of weaving brocade as flowery and colourful as the sunset glow. Girls on earth who long to be as handy as the Weaver Girl will compete to thread a needle with a silk thread in the moonlight on Seventh Eve. Whoever gets the silk thread through the eye of the needle first will be acknowledged as the most handy girl. Some girls will look up at the Weaver Girl star and pray to Weaver Girl to give them wisdom and dexterity. For this reason, Seventh Eve festival is also known as “the Festival of Praying for Dexterity” and “Girls Festival”. Today, Seventh Eve remains a romantic festival. Customs vary across China and some of the traditional activities have gone out of fashion. Yet, the love story of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl is still being passed on from generation to generation. 本文来源：https://www.wddqw.com/doc/fa6ad85eed630b1c59eeb5f0.html