Qixi Jie or Night of Seven Festival

This festival is almost the same meaning to the 'Valentine day' for westerner. It was started in Han dynasty and fallen in the 7 day of the 7 lunar month of Chinese calendar. Some people called this festival as the magpie festival too. However this festival is not popular in Malaysia. Although it was not popular but most of them know the story behind this festival. Instead of celebrating, they worshiping.

The story started with the Niulang (The star name is Altair) who was a young cowherd met with the Zhinu (The star name is Vega) who was the beautiful fairy weaver girl (She was also the daughter of the Goddess). They were loving each other, got married and living happily with two children then but without knowledge from the Goddess.

One day the Goddess accidentally found out this match and very angry. She used her hair pin to scratch on the surface of the river in the sky. The sky is the milkyway. The purpose was to separate both husband and wife.
Niulang was very sad and his ox pity on Niulang and talked to him. The ox wanted Niulang to kill itself and put the skin on and fly to heaven to see his wife Zhinu.

Niulang was very upset and cried, somehow he also followed the cow's word in order to see his wife. Then they can only see each other from far.

After a year, magpie were pity for them and all the magpie leader called all of the magpie to gather and help to built in a form of brigde (It also called as Que Qiao, it was built from the star Deneb to the star Cygnus). The purpose was to let the Niulang, Zhinu and the 2 children to meet together and the date joined was in July 7th of Chinese lunar month calendar.

On this day the unmarried woman will love to make a wish to get the good husband in future and for the married women they pray to have a good husband and quickly conceive a child for the newly married couple. They will either go to temple or put up an altar and placed the flowers, tea, fruits and face powder on the altar and pray. For the face powder, they will distribute the face powder among the younger women, half of them will throw up to the roof. Local people believe this kind of action, will make the women as beautiful as Zhinu.