七夕是中國民間傳統的節日，在翻譯成英文時，可直接使用拼音，即Qixi Festival；
因為七夕是在農曆七月初七，故也有翻譯成Double Seventh Festival；
七夕被賦予了“牛郎織女”的美麗愛情傳說，使其成為了象徵愛情的節日，從而被認為是中國最具浪漫色彩的傳統節日，在當代更是產生了“中國情人節”的文化含義。因此“七夕”也可翻譯成Chinese Valentine‘s Day（中國情人節）。
01
Brief Introdution
The Qixi Festival is celebrated on every 7th day of the 7th month according to Chinese lunar calendar。 The festival is known as the Chinese Valentine’s Day。 In the past days， girls are the major part of participants of this festival and the main activity during the festival isasking for light hand。 Therefore this day is called Qi Qiao Festival or Girls‘ Festival。 It is the most romantic festival among Chinese traditional festivals。
七夕節是在農曆七月初七，這個節日被稱為“中國情人節”。在古代，女孩們是這個節日的主要參與者，節日期間的主要活動是乞巧，因此，這一天被稱為“乞巧節”或“女兒節”。它是中國傳統節日中最浪漫的節日。
緣聚七夕
02
Folklore Story
In ancient China， a young cowherd called Niu lang was an orphan and lived with an old cow。 One day he came across a beautiful young lady， Zhinv， the seventh daughter of the Goddess， who was fed up with the boring heaven life and went to the earth for fun。 Soon the two youngsters fell in love with each other and got married without the Goddess’s approval。
在中國古代，有一個名叫牛郎的牧牛者，他是一個孤兒，和一頭老牛住在一起。有一天他遇到了一個美麗的姑娘——織女，織女是王母娘娘的第七個女兒，她厭倦了無聊的仙界生活，於是來到凡間遊玩。不久，這兩個年輕人彼此相愛，沒有得到王母的同意就成親了。
Zhinv proved to be a wonderful wife and Niu lang to be a very good husband。 They lived happily and had 2 adorable sons。 However， the Goddess finally found out that her daughter， a fairy girl， had married a mortal。 She exploded with rage and orderedthe heaven troopto catch Zhinv back。
織女是一個好妻子，牛郎是一個很好的丈夫。他們幸福地生活在一起，並有了兩個可愛的兒子。然而，王母后來發現，她的女兒，一個仙女，竟然嫁給了一個凡人。她勃然大怒，命天兵天將把織女抓回來。
On earth， Niu lang was very sad but can do nothing。 Suddenly his old cow began to talk and told him that if he kill it and put on its hide， he might be able to go to heaven to find his wife。 With great sadness， Niu lang killed the cow and did as what the cow told him with his two sons。
牛郎在凡間很傷心，但什麼也做不了。突然，他的老牛開口說話，說如果牛郎宰了它，穿上它的皮，他就可以飛去仙界找到他的妻子。牛郎非常難過地殺了這頭牛，並按照老牛對他所說的，帶著兩個兒子去尋妻了。
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 formingthe Milky Waybetween Altair and Vega。
王母知道這件事後，非常生氣。她拿出髮簪，在空中劃了一條寬闊的河，將牛郎和織女永遠分開，於是形成了銀河。
From then on， Zhinv could only sat 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。 But the magpies all around the world take pity on them。 Every July 7th， they would fly together to form amagpie bridgeover the stars， providing a way for the two lovers to meet for a single night。
從此織女只能坐在河的一邊傷心地織布，而牛郎則不得不永遠呆在河的另一邊照顧兩個孩子。但是全世界的喜鵲都很可憐他們，每年的7月7日，它們會聚在一起，在繁星之上形成一座鵲橋，為這對戀人提供了相見一晚的機會。
03
Customs
Asking for Good Embroidery Skills
乞巧
穿針乞巧
There were many different forms of competitions for ingenuity。 Among them， threading multiple-hole needles was the most popular and the oldest dating to the Han Dynasty。 Young girls would thread needles with five， seven or even nine holes。 The one finished the threading fastest would win。
當時有許多不同形式的“卜巧”方法。其中，穿多孔針是最流行和最古老的，可以追溯到漢代。年輕的女孩們會穿五孔、七孔甚至九孔的針，最快完成穿線的人贏。
喜蛛應巧
Since Northern and Southern Dynasties （420 - 589 AD）， young girls would catch a spider on the festival day and kept them overnight。 In the next morning， the better the web， the handier the owner was predicted to be。
從南北朝（公元420 - 589年）開始，年輕的姑娘們就會在節日這天抓蜘蛛，並把它們在家裡放一晚上。第二天早上，蜘蛛結的網越好，預示該女子越心靈手巧。
投針驗巧
In Ming and Qing Dynasties （1368–1911 AD）， girls would mix river water and well water on the festival， then put needles gently on the surface of the water on the second day。 If the shadow of the needle was in other shape instead of straight， it implies the girl had successfully obtained ingenuity。
在明清時期（公元1368 - 1911年），姑娘們會在節日的時候將河水和井水混合，然後在第二天將針輕輕放在水面上。如果針的影子不是直的，而是別的形狀，那就說明這位姑娘乞巧成功。
Praying for Good luck
on
Marriage and Family
祈求姻緣
Single women pray for finding a good husband in the future。 And the newly married women pray to become pregnant quickly。
單身女性祈禱將來能找到一個好丈夫，新婚的婦女則祈禱快點懷孕。
Eat Qiaoguo (Qixi Pastry)
吃巧果
Long time ago， there was a young girl who was sympathetic towards Zhinu and Niulang。 Every Qixi Festival， she would make some delicate pastries and pray that the two could reunite smoothly。 The Jade Emperor was touched by her and ordered Matchmaker to find her a Mr。 Right。 After， more and more young girls made pastries on that day in hope of their Mr。 Right and the custom of eating Qixi pastry formed。 Nowadays， Qixi pastries are still popular in Shandong， Shanghai， Shaoxing and some nearby areas。
很久以前，有個年輕女孩很同情織女和牛郎。每到七夕節，她都會做一些精緻的糕點，祈禱兩人能夠順利團聚。玉皇大帝被她感動了，命月老給她找個真命天子。此後，越來越多的年輕女孩在這一天做糕點，希望找到自己的白馬王子，吃“乞巧果子”的習俗形成。如今，巧果在山東、上海、紹興和周邊地區仍然很受歡迎。
Celebrate as the Valentine’s Day
情人節
As the time past， more and more young people begin to celebrate this day as Chinese Valentine’s Day because of the romantic folklore。 Lovers and couples exchange gifts on that Chinese lovers day， and some youngsters like to join traditional activities in ancient Chinese costumes。
隨著時間的推移，越來越多的年輕人因為浪漫的民間傳說開始把這一天作為“中國情人節”慶祝。在這一天，情侶們互贈禮物，一些年輕人喜歡穿著中國古代的服裝參加傳統活動。
END