Two Chinese Valentine's Days in a year Chinanews Anthony Chinanews, Beijing, July 31 - Today in the 7th day of the 7th month in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, the Seventh Evening of the Seventh Month Festival, which is considered as the Chinese Valentine's Day, a sweethearts day. However, what is sweeter is that there will be a second Seventh Evening of the Seventh Month Festival on August 30, as there is a intercalary seventh month this year. The last time when there were two Seventh Evening of the Seventh Month Festivals in a year was in 1968. The Seventh Evening of the Seventh Month Festival, also known as the Needlework's Day or Girl's Day, on which girls pray to the Weaving-Maid for her blessing on their needlework, and of which the most romantic part is the love story between Weaving-Maid and Cowherd. It is said that Cowherd from the mundane world and Weaving-Maid from heaven loved each other. They were separated by the Milky Way at the order of the Queen Mother of the Western Heaven, and were permitted to meet only once a year. Cowherd and Weaving-Maid became the stars Altair and Vega. They would meet on the seventh night of the seventh lunar month every year, with the magpies making a bridge to help them cross the Milky Way. People regarded the date of wedding as " meeting of stars " so far. Their beautiful tale has touched the hearts of so many young lovers in China throughout the ages, thus every year on the Seventh Evening of the Seventh Month Festival, many lovers would prey to the two stars for love and happiness. Two Seventh Evening of the Seventh Month Festivals in a year is more than good news to lovers, but why? That is because the traditional Chinese lunar calendar is based on the syzygies of the moon, and there are only 355 or 354 days in a year, 11 days less than a solar year. The solution to this problems is to add seven intercalary months every 19 years, thus in 2006 an intercalary seventh month is added, making two Seventh Evening of the Seventh Month Festivals.

[七夕節(jié)的英文簡歷]