Qixi Festival 2016

Qixi Festival 2016 is a doodle made to celebrate the qixi festival.

Site Description
A boy-meets-girl story with a supernatural twist, the romantic legend behind Qixi Festival dates back to the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). In recent times, Qixi Festival, also called Double Seventh Festival or Magpie Festival, has become known as Chinese Valentine’s Day.

Cupid plays no part in this tale. Instead, the myth involves Zhi Nu, a fairy weaver maid, and Niu Lang, a cow herder. They, a devoted couple with two children were torn apart by the goddess of heaven who can’t fathom why a fairy would marry a mere mortal. The goddess whisks Zhi Nu back to heaven and separates the heartbroken lovers forever by a river, later known as the Milky Way. Moved by their tears, the goddess allows the lovers to reunite once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the traditional Chinese lunar calendar.

Their meeting spot, a bridge formed by magpies, is the inspiration for today’s Doodle. This year, Qixi Festival falls on August 9th.