qixi festival
A traditional Chinese festival that is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar. The meaning of 七夕 is Evening of Seven.
The festival originated from people's worship of natural celestial phenomena. The seventh day of the seventh month is believed to be the birthday of goddess Zhinü (织女; lit. weaver girl, representing Vega), who's nicknamed Seventh Sister (七姐) because she's the seventh of her siblings. Traditionally, on the day of Qixi, young girls would pray to Seventh Sister for dexterous hands for works like weaving and sewing. The festival is also called Prayer of Dexterity (乞巧) and Seventh Sister's Birthday (七姐诞) because of this.
Since the Han Dynasty, the festival was connected to the tale of love between Zhinü and god Niulang (牛郎; lit. cowherd boy, representing Altair) and became a festival for girls and boys of age.
Qixi inspired Tanabata, the Japanese equivalent written the same way. Despite the writing, the terms should not be used interchangeably. When Qixi made its way to Japan, other local traditions were incorporated into the festival, notably hanging tanzaku on bamboos. Qixi applies strictly to the traditional Chinese version and Tananata strictly the Japanese version.
