Double Seventh Festival
 
In China, the Double Seventh Festival, or Ingenuity-begging Festival (the festival to plead for skills) falls on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. The festival originates from the legend of the loyal love between Niulang (cowherd) and Zhinv (weaving girl).
 
On the festival, girls beg for bright heart and knitting and needlecraft skills from the goddess in heaven. There are various folk customs of ingenuity tests in ancient China. And the maids in palace also paid great attention to the activities, which are usually supported by the emperor. Celebrations are also held in the theme of the Double Seventh Festival everywhere in China, such as the customs of "seed plant for child", "catch dew" and "sworn sisterhood under the moon". In the romantic evening, girls prepare melons and seasonal foods under the moon before worship and prayers for skills and a good marriage.
 
 
The food customs in each place for the festival are not necessarily the same but are all called having propitious food. Dumplings, noodles, deep-fried twisted dough sticks and wontons are mostly included, among which the most famous is the Qiaoguo (Fried Thin Paste).
 
As China’s Valentine’s Day, the Double Seventh Festival is the most romantic one among all traditional Chinese festivals, and also a day most valued by girls in the past. Today, it is still one of our favorite festivals under evolvement and innovation based on the traditional culture.
 
 
Legend has it that every year on the night of the Double-Seventh Day, the Weaving Girl and the Cowherd in heaven would meet at the Magpie Bridge. The Weaving Girl is a beautiful and smart fairy with deft hands and the women in the mortal world will beg for intelligence and deft needle work from her; hence July 7 of the lunar calendar is also called Begging-for-Dexterity Festival. Therefore, the Double-Seventh Day is not merely a Chinese Valentine’s Day.
 
The Origin of the Double-Seventh Day
 
As China’s Valentine’s Day, the Double Seventh Festival is the most romantic one among all traditional Chinese festivals, and also a day most valued by girls in the past. Today, it is still one of our favorite festivals undergoing evolvement and innovation based on the traditional culture.
 
1. Double-Seventh Day originating from nature worship of the human race
 
According to historical literature, records about Altair (represented by the cowherd in the legend) and Vega (represented by the Weaving Girl) had come into being along with the increasing understanding of astronomy and weaving technology of the Chinese at least three or four thousand years ago. The first star of the Big Dipper is called Kui Star (head star), or kuishou. Later, the one who gained the first place in the highest imperial civil service examination is called "da kui tian xia shi" (literally, great head of the world scholars); and the Double-Seventh Day is also called "Kuixing (head star) Festival", or "Shaishu (Basking books) Festival".
 
2. Double-Seventh Day was also the product of time worship of the ancients
 
In the Chinese language, "七" (seven) forms a partial tone with "期" (a period of time); the number "七" appears in both month and day giving a strong sense of time. The number "seven" displays the periodicity of time in the folk wisdom, which usually sets "double seven" as the termination of time. Meanwhile, "七" forms partial tone with "吉", therefore "double seven", carrying the meaning of double auspiciousness, is a lucky day. In Taiwan of China, July is considered as the month carrying happiness and auspiciousness.
 
3. "Double Seventh Day" is also a phenomenon of number worship
 
January 1, March 3, May 5, July 7, and September 9 along with February 2 and June 6, altogether seven pairs of date in the lunar calendar, were considered as auspicious days by the ancient Chinese. "Seven" is also the number of the beads in each row of the abacus, romantic and precise, giving a mysterious aesthetic feeling. Furthermore, "七" bears the same pronunciation with "妻" (wife), thus the Double Seventh Day is to a great extent a festival related to women.

Schedule
 
The seventh day of the seventh lunar month falls on:
 
6 Aug 2011
23 Aug 2012
13 Aug 2013
2 Aug 2014
20 Aug 2015
9 Aug 2016
28 Aug 2017
17 Aug 2018
7 Aug 2019
25 Aug 2020
 
 
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