The Double-Seventh Day refers to the seventh day of the seventh month
      on the Chinese lunar calendar. The day is not as well-known as many other
      Chinese festivals. But almost everyone in China, young and old, is very
      familiar with the story behind this festival.     A long long time ago,
      there was a poor cowherd, Niulang. His parents died when he was young, so
      he lived with his elder brother. Unfortunately, both his brother and sisiter
      -in-law were mean and cruel and treated Niulang very badly. They would not
      give him enough food to eat, and made him work so hard that he hardly had
      time to sleep. Finally, they kicked him out of their home. All he had in
      the world were the clothes on his back and an old ox.
   
           Niulang built a small thatched cottage on the side of a mountain. He
      cut and dug and sweat until he had made a vegetable garden out of the rochy
      soil. He was often tired and hungry, but always found time to take care of
      his old ox. One day, this old ox began to talk. It said that it used to be
      Taurus, a proud star in the night sky. But it violated the law of the Heav-
      enly Palace by stealing some seeds of grain to give to the world of Man. As
      a punishment, it was banished to this world as an ox.
   
           Not far from Niulang's cottage was a sacred pond. The old ox told its
      master that several young goddesses would come to this pond in a few days to
      bathe. One of them would be called Zhinu,“the Girl Weaver” .Zhinu was a
      granddaughter of the King of the Heavenly Kingdom. Virtuous and kind, she
      was the most beautiful being in the whole universe. The old ox paused for a
      moment, then said that if Niulang could take away her clothes while she was
      in the sacred pond, she would stay and be his wife.
   
           When the day came, Niulang hid in the tall reeds by the pond and waited
      for the young goddesses. They soon came, just as the old ox had said they
      would. They took off their silk robes and jumped happily into the clear water.
      Niulang crept out of his hiding place, picked up Zhinu's clothes and ran away.
      Her companions were so frightened that they jumped out, dressed as quickly as
      they could and flew away. Zhinu was left alone in the pond. Niulang returned
      and gave her back her clothes. He had adored her from the first moment he saw
      her. They  looked into  each other's eyes. The heavenly girl told the poor
      cowherd  that she would be his wife.
   
           The couple  were deeply in love and  got married very soon  afterwards .
      Niulang worked hard growing crops and Zhinu raised silkworms. He made sure
      that they ate their full every day. The exquisite silks and satins she wove
      soon became famous throughout the land. Three years later, Zhinu gave birth
      to twins, a boy and a girl. They named the boy Brother Gold and the girl
      Sister Jade. The couple were overjoyed with the new additions to their family
      and believed they would stay happily together for the rest of their lives.
   
           One day, the old ox was dying. Before it closed its eyes for the last
      time, it told the young couple that its hide would enable a man to fly even
      to the heavens. It asked them to preserve it carefully.
   
           Meanwhile, the Kigg and Queen of Heaven found out that their granddaugh-
      ter had gone to the world of Man and taken a husband. They were furious. The
      Queen flew down to earth with some of her soldiers.
   
           Niulang came back from the field one day to find his two children sitting
      on the ground, crying. They told him that an old lady lad taken their mother
      away. Niulang remembered what the old ox had told him. He placed the twins in
      wicker baskets on a pole to carry on his shoulder, put on the magic hide, and
      flew up, up into the sky. He had almost caught up with the Queen and his wife
      when the Queen heard the crying of his children. Looking back, with an angry
      wave of her arm, a raging torrent immediately appeared between her group and
      Niulang. He could not get past this wide swollen river. Hearbroken, Niulang
      and his children could only look and weep bitterly. The King in his Heavenly
      Palace was moved by the sound of their crying, and decided to allow Niulang
      and Zhinu to meet once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

       
          The poor couple of Niulang and Zhinu each became a star. Niulang is
    Altair and Zhinu is Vega. The wide river that keeps them apart is known as
    the Milky Way. On the east side of the Milky Way, Altair is the middle one
    of a line of three. The end ones are the twins. To the southeast are six
    stars in the shape of an ox. Vega is to the west of the Milky Way; the stars
    around her form in the shape of a loom. Every year, the two stars of Altair
    and Vega are closest together on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.
   
          This sad love story has passed down from generation to generation. It
    is well known that very few maagpies are seen on the Double-Seventh Day.
    This is because most of them fly to the Milky Way, where they form a bridge
    so that the two lovers might come together. The next day, it is seen that
     many magpies are bald; this is because Niulang and Zhinu walked and stood
    too long on the heads of their loyal feathered friends .
   
          In ancient times, the Double-Seventh Day was a festival specially for
    young women. Girls, no matter from rich or poor families, would put on their
    holiday best  to  celebrate the annual meeting of the cowherd and the Girl
    Weaver. Parents would place an incense burner in the courtyard and lay out
    some fruit as offerings. Then all the girls in the family would kowtow to
    Niulang and Zhinu and pray for ingenuity.
   
          In the Tang Dynasty about 1,000 years ago, rich families in the capital
    city of Chang'an would set up a decorated tower in the courtyard and name it
    :Tower of Praying for Ingenuity. They prayed for various types of ingenuity.
    Most girls would pray for outstanding sewing or cooking skills. In the past
    these were important virtues for a woman.
   
          Girls and women would gather together in a square and look into the star
    -filled night sky. They would put their hands behind their backs, holding
    needle and thread. At the word,Start,they would try to thread the needle. The
    one who succeeded first would be granted her wish by Zhinu, the Girl Weaver.
   
          The same night, the girls and women would also dislpay carved melons and
    samples of their cookies and other delicacies. During the daytime, they would
    skillfully carve melons into all sorts of things. Some would make a gold fish.
    others preferred flowers, still others would use several melons and carve
    them into an exquisite building. These melons were called Hua  Gua or Carved
     Melons.
   
          The ladies would also show off their fried cookies made in many different
    shapes.They would invite the Girl Weaver to judge who was the best. Of course,
    Zhinu would not come down to the world because she was busy talking to Niulang
    after a long year of separation. These activities gave the girls and women a
    good opportunity to show their skills and added fun to the fesstival.
   
          Chinese people nowadays, especially city residents, no longer hold such
    activities, Most young   women  buy  their clothes  from shops and most young
    couples share the housework. More and more men are learning to cook, so it is
    perhaps not so important for the woman to develop her cuisine skills. In fact,
    many men can cook better than their wives.
   
            The Double-Seventh Day is not a pulic holiday in China. However, it is
    still a day to celebrate the annual meeting of the loving couple, the Cowherd
    and the Girl Weaver. Not surprisingly, many people consider the Double-seventh
    Day the Chinese Valentine's Day.