The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is Qixi, widely regarded as China’s Valentine’s Day.

农历七月初七是七夕节。七夕节被普遍认为是中国的情人节。

Many different stories lay claim to being the origin of the festival but one version is the most popular and accepted.

因为它承载着关于牛郎和织女的古老爱情传说。在众说纷纭的故事当中最广为流传的版本是：

The youngest daughter of the Jade Emperor ( the ruler of the world in legend), the Weaver Girl was a fairy who weaved rosy clouds in the sky.

玉帝（神话传说中天地的主宰）的小女儿织女，是在天上纺织彩霞的仙女。

She became tired of the boring immortal life and decided to descend to the mortal world. She met and fell in love with a cowherd.

她厌倦了乏味的神仙生活，私自来到人间，与凡人牛郎相恋。

The Jade Emperor strongly objected to the couple’s union and forcibly separated them by the Milky Way leaving them torn apart by the galaxy and only allowing them to meet once a year.

玉帝得知后震怒，强行拆散了这对夫妻，让他们分居银河两边，只允许他们一年见一次面。

Despite that, the distance could not stop their love for one another.

尽管如此，遥远的距离却不能阻止牛郎和织女对爱情的坚持。

They still love each other and look forward to meeting once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

从此他们终日思念彼此，期盼着一年一度的相会。

On the brighter side, the tragedy of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl could not happen in modern China.

如今牛郎织女一年一会的凄美故事在现代中国已经不再上演。

With the development of high speed railways, lovebirds no longer have any difficulty reuniting even if they are many miles apart.

高速列车的发展让恋人们即便相隔遥远也不再一面难求。

Beijing and Shanghai, the two largest cities in China are 1200 kilometers away from each other.

北京和上海这两座中国最大的城市，单程距离超过1200公里。

But a ride on the high-speed rail only takes four hours and there are more than 100 high-speed trains traveling between the two cities every day.

但高铁仅需4个多小时，同时每天有超过100个班次的高速火车往返在这两座城市之间。

The convenience and efficiency of modern travel have shortened the “galactic distance” between couples.

便捷高效的现代交通缩短了情侣们之间的“银河”距离。

On Qixi, more and more young people are going on dates and exchanging gifts to express their affection. This in turn gave rise to a unique Qixi economy.

每到七夕这天，越来越多的年轻人在一起约会、送礼表达爱意，形成独有的七夕经济。

Long queues are also often formed at the gate of the Civil Affairs Bureau where couples rush to register for marriage when love is in the air.

民政局的门口也会早早排起长队。很多情侣赶在这一天办理结婚登记手续，在甜蜜的节日氛围中祈求爱情地久天长。

This is because Qixi carries with it a symbolic meaning, choose your own love and remain faithful for life.

因为其良好的寓意：婚姻自主、忠贞不渝。

More than 2000 years ago, Qixi also known as “the Begging Festival”.

相传在两千多年前七夕节也称“乞巧节”。

In ancient China, women would visit their close friends and worship the Weaver Girl on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month praying they could become as clever as the Weaver Girl and find their faithful lover.

中国古代，女性会在七月初七这一天访闺中密友，拜祭织女，祈求能够像织女一样心灵手巧，收获忠贞的爱情。

In traditional Chinese marriage, women who pray for dexterity often devote all their energies to family life.

在中国传统婚姻中，祈求灵巧的女性往往会将全部精力投入到家庭生活中。

However, times have changed as has the role of women.

然而随着时代的发展，中国女性的角色发生了转变。

A more diversified social role enables women in China to pursue their love courageously and no longer be bound to domestic life like the Weaver Girl.

更加多样化的社会角色，使得中国女性可以勇敢的追寻自己的爱情，不再像织女一样受到束缚。

High-speed rail has brought tremendous changes.

高速火车的车轮带动着时代发展的巨变。

Many Chinese traditions have changed, but the tradition of festive reunions has stayed strong.

很多中国传统发生了变化，但中国人佳节团聚的传统从未改变。

In another month, another festival of reunion, Mid-Autumn Festival is coming.

再过一个多月，团聚的节日——中秋就要到来了。 作者：读书有三到我先到 https://www.bilibili.com/read/cv21077324/?spm_id_from=333.999.0.0 出处：bilibili