Dear Mr. Know-It-All,
It’s Valentine’s Day. I’m feeling lonely. Tell me a love story. — Love Sick
We all know about the Western Valentine’s Day, on February 14. But this year is unusual because one of the two—yes, two—Chinese Valentine’s Days falls on the very same day: the fifteenth and final day of the Lunar New Year. This day is known as Yuen Siu, and it celebrates the new year’s first full moon. Traditionally, lanterns are lit, with riddles stuck to them and rewards awaiting those who solve them. On this night, young ladies and men are allowed to wander around to check out the lanterns… and each other.
The other Chinese Valentine’s Day is the Seven Sisters Festival, on the seventh day of the seventh month: this year, that’s August 2. On this day, young girls across China pray for wisdom and a good husband (presumably the two are related). The story behind this day is the ancient tale of the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd. Once upon a time, a young cowherd encountered a beautiful weaver girl, the daughter of a goddess of heaven. They fell in love, eloped and had two children. But when the weaver girl’s mother discovered the deception, she ordered her wayward daughter back to heaven. The cowherd chased his wife, and the infuriated Goddess used her hairpin to scratch a silver river into the sky, forever dividing the two lovers. And so the Cowherd, the star Altair, must stay on one side of the Milky Way—and the Weaver Girl, the star Vega, sits on the other. But the magpies learned of their plight and took pity on the lovers: and so once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month, they form a bridge over the Milky Way to allow the twain to meet.
It’s been said that the course of true love never did run smooth. The next time you’re feeling unlucky in love, just thank your lucky stars—Altair and Vega themselves—that you don’t have
to rely on the goodwill of a murder of crows every time you want to consummate a relationship.
Mr. Know-It-All answers your questions and quells your urban concerns. Send queries, troubles or problems to [email protected].