【FT: 七夕节拓展】

Pete妈妈

Observed by: China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other Asian countries
过七夕的国家:中国、日本、韩国、越南等亚洲国家

The Qixi Festival is celebrated every 7th day of the 7th month according to the Chinese lunar calendar. The festival is known as Chinese Valentine's Day.
中国农历每年的七月初七是七夕节。这个节日被称为中国的情人节。

This day is called Qi Qiao Festival or Girls Festival. It is the most romantic festival among Chinese traditional festivals. In 2021, the date of the Qixi Festival will be August 14th.
这一天被称为“乞巧节”或“女儿节”。它是中国传统节日中最浪漫的节日。2021年，七夕节的日期是8月14日。

Qixi Festival, which is known as Qiqiao Festival, originated from the Han Dynasty.
七夕节，原名乞巧节，起源于汉代。

Customs of Qixi Festival
七夕节的习俗

Asking for Good Embroidery [ɪmˈbrɔɪdəri] Skills乞巧

In the past days, the main activity during the festival is asking for a light hand (乞巧 qi qiao).
过去,七夕节日期间的主要活动是乞巧。

1.穿针乞巧
Threading multiple[ˈmʌltɪpl]-hole needles 穿多孔针 was the most popular and the oldest dating to the Han Dynasty汉代. Young girls would thread needles with five, seven or even nine holes. The one finished the threading fastest would win.
穿多孔针是最流⾏和最古⽼的，可以追溯到汉代。年轻的⼥孩们会穿五孔、七孔甚⾄九孔的针，最快完成穿线的⼈赢。

2. 投针验巧
On this day, girls will throw a sewing needle into a bowl full of water on the night of Qixi.
在这一天，女孩们会在七夕的晚上把一根缝纫针扔进一个装满水的碗里。

If the needle floats on top of the water instead of sinking, it proves the girl is a skilled embroider[ɪmˈbrɔɪdə].
如果针浮在水面而不是下沉，这就证明这个女孩是一个熟练的刺绣师。

Now lovers and couples exchange gifts on that Chinese lovers day, and some youngsters like to join traditional activities in ancient Chinese costumes.
现在，七夕节，情侣们交换礼物，一些年轻人喜欢穿着中国古代服装参加传统活动。

Love Story of Niulang and Zhinv
牛郎织女的故事

It is a day full of romance because of an ancient household love story in China about Niulang and Zhinv.
这是一个充满浪漫色彩的日子，因为中国古代有一个关于牛郎和织女的家庭爱情故事。

In ancient China, a young cowherd [ˈkaʊhɜːd] called Niu lang lived with an old cow.
在中国古代，年轻的牛郎和一头老牛住在一起。

One day he came across a beautiful young lady, Zhinv, (织女, a weaver[ˈwiːvər]织布工 girl) the seventh daughter of Goddess, who was fed up with the boring heaven life and went to the earth for fun.
有一天他遇到了一个美丽的女子, 织女, 天帝的第七个女儿,她厌倦了无聊的天堂, 去了人间玩。

Soon the two youngsters fell in love with each other and got married without the Goddess’s approval[əˈpruːvl]同意.
不久，这两个年轻人坠入爱河，未经王母同意就结婚了。

The Zhinv proved to be a wonderful wife and Niu lang to be a very good husband. They lived happily and had 2 lovely sons.
织女是一个很好的妻子，牛郎是一个很好的丈夫。他们生活得很幸福，有两个可爱的儿子。

However, the Goddess finally found out that her daughter, a fairy girl, had married a mortal[ˈmɔːtl]凡人. She exploded with rage（勃然大怒，angry） and ordered to catch Zhinv back.
然而，王母最终发现，她的女儿，一个仙女，嫁给了一个凡人。她勃然大怒，命令把织女抓回来。

On earth, Niu lang was very sad but can do nothing. Suddenly his old cow began to talk and told him that if he kills it and puts on its hide, he might be able to go to heaven to find his wife.
在人间的牛郎很伤心，但什么也做不了。突然，他的老牛开始说话，告诉他，如果他杀死它，穿上它的皮，他就可以去天堂找到他的妻子。

With great sadness, Niu lang killed the cow and did as the cow told him with his two sons.
牛郎非常伤心，把牛杀了，并按照牛的吩咐和两个儿子做了。

The Goddess knew it and was very annoyed. She took out her hairpin and scratched a wide river in the sky to separate the two lovers forever, thus forming the Milky Way银河 between Altair 牛郎星 and Vega [ˈveɪgə]织女星.
王母知道了，很生气。她拿出发夹，在天上划了一条宽阔的河，将这对恋人永远隔开，在牛郎星和织女星之间形成了银河。

From then on, Zhinv could only sit on one side of the river and weaved sadly while Niu lang had to forever on the other side of the river and took care of their two children.
从此，织女只能坐在河的一边悲伤地织布，而牛郎则永远在河的另一边照顾他们的两个孩子。

But the magpies[ˈmægˌpaɪz] all around the world take pity 同情 on them. Every July 7th, they would fly together to form a magpie bridge over the stars, providing a way for the two lovers to meet for a single night.
但是世界各地的喜鹊都同情它们。每年7月7日，他们会一起飞翔，在天上的星星上搭起鹊桥，让这对恋人在夜晚相遇。

Niulang and Zhinv meeting on magpie bridge.
牛郎织女在鹊桥相会。