农历七月初七在中国人心目中占据的地位非常特别，它是中国传统节日中最具浪漫色彩的一个节日，人们把这一天称为"七夕"，也叫乞巧节或女儿节。过去，这一天也是姑娘们最为重视的日子。
      七夕最早源于我国民间传说中牛郎织女的故事：
      从小失去父母的牛郎与哥哥嫂嫂一起生活，他勤劳善良，却总被哥嫂虐待，唯一的朋友是家里那头老牛。有天牛郎出去放牛，忽然看到七个美丽的仙女从天而降，背着玉帝和王母打算到人间的湖里来洗澡。牛郎顿时爱上了最美丽的那个仙女——织女。在老牛的帮助下，牛郎藏起了织女的衣服，也因此留住了衣服的主人——美丽的织女。
      心灵手巧的织女做了牛郎的妻子后，与牛郎男耕女织，并生了一儿一女，生活十分美满幸福。可惜好景不长，玉帝和王母娘娘发现此事后大发雷霆，派天兵押解织女回天庭。为了阻拦追来的牛郎，王母娘娘拔下头上的金钗，在天空划出了一条波涛滚滚的银河。无法过河的牛郎只能与织女遥望对泣。他们的爱情感动了喜鹊，无数喜鹊飞来用身体搭成一道彩桥，让牛郎织女得以在桥上相会。王母娘娘无奈，只好允许牛郎织女每年七月七日在鹊桥上会面一次。
      这个故事始于汉代，因此七夕节的形成也在汉代，当时就有"穿七孔针"、"以瓜果祭牛郎织女"的习俗。自那时起，七夕成为旧时女孩子最重视的节日，这一天晚上，女孩子们通常都会梳妆打扮，摆上时令瓜果，精致点心，对着朗朗的天空虔诚祈祷，祈求天上的织女能让自己也像织女一样，有双巧灵的手，织绣的技法娴熟，当然也还会祈求爱情与婚姻的美满幸福。
      因为七夕带有浓厚的爱情色彩，它更成为许多诗人感怀的题材，"金风玉露一相逢，便胜却人间无数"、"流水聆听相思语，折柳相送待七夕"无数优美的诗句因此而流传下来。

The 7th day of the 7th lunar calendar is a special day for the Chinese people. It is the most romantictraditionalfestival and was considered in the past as the most important day for girls. Chinese women, especially unmarried ones, used to take this festival quite seriously.  In China, this day is also known as "The Begging Festival" or "The Girls' Festival".

The Double Seventh Festival has its origin in the traditional folklore "the Niu Lang (Cowherd) and Zhi Nv (Weaver Maid)".

The Cowherd lost his parents when he was a child. He lived with his elder brother and sister-in-law, who treated him badly. He was an honest and kind-hearted boy whose only friend was the old cattle. One day, he went out to feed his cattle. Suddenly, he saw seven fairies coming down from heaven to bath in the lake. At that moment, the cattle spoke to him, asking him to steal the dress that belonged to the most beautiful fairy. He took the dress and asked the fairy to stay with him.

After becoming the wife of the Cowherd, the Weaver Maid gave birth to a boy and a girl. The Cowherd worked in the farm field and the Weaver Maid wove at home, enjoying the peace and happiness of a family. Unfortunately, the God of Heaven soon found out the fact and ordered the Queen Mother of the Western Heavens to bring the Weaver Maid back to heaven. To block the pursuit of the Cowherd, the Queen Mother took off one of her gold hairpins and drew a silver river, the Milky Way, between them. The Cowherd and Weaver Maid were then separated on the two banks. However, their loyalty to love touched the magpies, so thousands of them formed a bridge across the Milky Way, and the lovers were temporarily united. The Queen Mother was eventually moved and allowed them to meet once a year on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month. Hence their meeting date has been called "Qi Xi" (Double Seventh).

The Double Seventh Festival originated in the Han Dynasty. Also at that time, the traditions of threading seven sewing needles and offering sacrifices to the Cowherd and the Weaver Maid were formed. From then on, that day became the grandest festival for girls. In the evening, girls would put on their prettiest dresses and offer seasonal fruits and delicious pastries and look up to the sky and pray. They hope that fairies in heaven could help them with their weaving skills, and more importantly, they would pray for true love and a happy marriage.

For its romance, many poets have written about the Double Seventh Festival, leaving many elegant lines of poems about the legend.

• romantic [rəu´mæntik]   a.传奇(式)的；浪漫的   (初中英语单词)
• origin [´ɔridʒin]   n.起源；由来；出身   (初中英语单词)
• western [´westən]   a.西的；西方的   (初中英语单词)
• pursuit [pə´sju:t]   n.追踪；追击；事务   (初中英语单词)
• delicious [di´liʃəs]   a.美味的，可口的   (初中英语单词)
• romance [rəu´mæns]   n.中世纪骑士小说   (初中英语单词)
• calendar [´kælində]   n.日历；月历；历法   (高中英语单词)
• festival [´festivəl]   n.节日；庆祝；欢庆   (高中英语单词)
• unfortunately [ʌn´fɔ:tʃunitli]   ad.不幸；不朽；可惜   (高中英语单词)
• loyalty [´lɔiəlti]   n.忠诚；忠心；忠实   (高中英语单词)
• sewing [´səuiŋ]   n.缝纫；(书的)装订   (高中英语单词)
• offering [´ɔfəriŋ]   n.提供；礼物；捐献   (高中英语单词)
• elegant [´eligənt]   a.文雅的；优美的   (高中英语单词)
• traditional [trə´diʃənəl]   a.传统的，习惯的   (英语四级单词)
• unmarried [,ʌn´mærid]   a.未婚的，独身的   (英语四级单词)
• weaver [´wi:və]   n.纺织工；编织者   (英语四级单词)
• bridge [bridʒ]   n.桥(梁)；鼻梁；桥牌   (英语四级单词)
• temporarily [´tempərərili]   ad.暂时地   (英语四级单词)
• eventually [i´ventʃuəli]   ad.最后，终于   (英语四级单词)
• dynasty [´dinəsti]   n.王朝；朝代   (英语四级单词)