The Festival of Tragic Lovers, or Double Seventh, is based on an ancient Chinese legend about two ill-fated lovers. There are several version of the tale. Here is one version:

A poor, orphaned cowherd and a maiden from heaven meet, fall in love, and marry. They are together happily for three years here on earth. The Queen of Western Heaven is against the union and orders the wife back to heaven. Eventually, the cowherd dies and enters heaven as an immortal. To keep them apart, the Queen places a silver river, the Milky Way, between them. Once a year on this day, thousands of magpies form a bridge across the silver river, and the lovers are temporarily united.

Note: This holiday is one of Calendar Mine's over 500 built-in observances. Dates for the above holiday are calculated accurately for any location on the globe.

See Also

Holiday Catalogue

Chinese Traditional Holidays