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The Qixi Festival , also known as the Qiqiao Festi- val, is a Chinese festival that celebrates the annu- al meeting of the cowherd and weaver girl in Chi-nese mythology. It falls on the seventh day of the 7th month on the Chinese calendar It is sometim- es called the Double Seventh Festival, the Chinese Valentines Day, the Night of Sevens, or the Magp- ie Festival. The festival originated from the romantic legend of two lovers, Zhinü and Niulang, who were the weav -er maid and the cowherd, respectively. The tale of The Weaver Girl and the Cowherd has been celebra- ted in the Qixi Festival since the Han Dynasty. The earliest-known reference to this famous myth dates back to over 2600 years ago, which was told in a po em from the Classic of Poetry.The Qixi festival insp- ired Tanabata festival in Japan and Chilseok festival in Korea. The general tale is about a love story between Zhinü (the weaver girl, symbolizing Vega) and Niulang (the cowherd, symbolizing Altair). Their love was not allowed, thus they were banished to opposite sides of the Silver River .Once a year, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, a flock of magpies would form a bridge to reunite the lovers for one day.A young cowherd, hence Niulang, came across a beautiful girl—Zhinü , the Goddesss seventh daughter, who had just escaped from boring heaven to look for fun. Zhinü soon fell in love with Niulang, and they got married without the knowledge of the Goddess. Zhinü proved to be a wonderful wife, and Niulang to be a good husband. They lived happily and had two children. But the Goddess of Heaven (or in some versions, Zhinüs mother) found out that Zhinü, a fairy girl, had married a mere mortal. The Goddess was furious and ordered Zhinü to return to heaven. (Alternatively, the Goddess forced the fairy back to her former duty of weaving colorful clouds, a task she neglected while living on earth with a mortal.) On Earth, Niulang was very upset that his wife had disappeared. Suddenly, his