DOUBLE SEVENTH FESTIVAL                 NYCHINATOWNcom

2001: August 25
2002: August 15

Cleverness at Needlework Means Marital Bliss

   The festival that falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month is known by several Chinese names - the Double Seventh Festival (Qiqiao Jie), Praying for Cleverness Festival (also Qiqiao Jie, but written differently), the Seventh Sister Festival (Qijie Jie) and the Girls' Festival (Nu'er Jie).

    Although the celebration of this festival has died out over the last century, Chinese women, especially unmarried ones, used to take this festival quite seriously. In the evening, they offered incense, sewing kits, fruit and flowers to the Altair and Vega stars, known respectively in Chinese folklore as the Herd Boy and Weaving Girl stars.

    They would pray for cleverness in needlework and marital bliss. In the old days, Chinese women believed the two went hand in hand - marital happiness came only if their sewing skills were up to scratch.

Herd Boy and Weaving Girl
   Despite the fact that the practices of this holiday have all but vanished, the story of the Herd Boy and the Weaving girl is still well known by Chinese of all ages. Legend has it that to the east of the Milky Way lived the Weaving Girl, daughter of the Emperor of Heaven. It was she who wove the heavenly garment of clouds and brocade with such great skill.

    One day she sneaked down into the mortal world where she met, and then married, the Herd Boy. However, after their marriage, the Weaving Girl neglected her weaving and the Herd Boy stopped working in his fields. The Emperor of Heaven became infuriated at this and forced the Weaving Girl to return to heaven.

    The Herd Boy gave desperate chase but was halted at the banks of the Heavenly River (the Milky Way). The Emperor of Heaven was moved by their love and permitted the two lovers to meet once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month, when magpies formed a bridge across the Milky Way. The Herd Boy then transformed into Altair and the Weaving Girl Vega.

    This story was passed down through the generations as a romantic folktale, but it served another purpose as well. It admonished a largely agricultural people not to neglect their duties - be it in the fields or at the looms.

The Seventh Sister
   For women in Guangdong and Fujian, the Double Seventh Festival was an extremely important day. They called it the Day of Prayer to the Seventh Sister. Women from all households threaded their needles under the moon that evening as a prayer for good needlework and embroidery skills. They also flung white powder into the sky, letting it fall on their faces as it descended. They hoped this act would bring them beauty and happiness in marriage.