Qiqiao Festival (Ingenuity¹-Begging Festival) falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month; it is also called Girls’ Festival, or Daughters’Festival.

每年农历七月初七的七夕节，简称七夕，俗称乞巧节，又称少女节或女儿节，是中国传统节日中最具浪漫色彩的一个节日。

The legend related to this festival goes like this： Once upon a time a fairy in heaven (the Weaving Girl) fell in love with a cowherd (the Herd² Boy) on earth.

传说天上的仙女（织女）爱上了人间的牛郎。

The fairy was so devoted³ to her love that she gave up all her priviledges of being a fairy in heaven and came down on earth to live with her beloved.

仙女深坠爱河，决定放弃天堂仙女的所有特权，下凡到人间和牛郎结婚。

For several years, they led a happy life, and the Weaving Girl gave birth to two lovely children.

他们男耕女织，情深意重，生了一男一女两个孩子.

Then the fairy's mother—the Lady Queen Mother learnt about this and she was so angry that she had her daughter, the Weaving Girl, taken back to heaven by force.

但是好景不长， 这事很快便让织女的母亲--王母娘娘知道了。她非常气愤，强行把织女带回天上。

The Herd Boy, with their two children, ran after the Weaving Girl, but the Lady Queen mother took out her hairpin⁴ and drew a river between them.

牛郎拉着自己的儿女，一起腾云驾雾上天去追织女，眼见就要追到了，岂知王母娘娘拔下头上的金簪一挥，一道波涛汹涌的天河就出现了.

People were very sympathetic with the couple, and to help them， thousands of swallows formed a bridge across the river on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month so that they could meet each other once a year.

牛郎和织女被隔在两岸。 他们的忠贞爱情感动了大家，千万只喜鹊飞来，搭成鹊桥，让牛郎织女走上鹊桥相会，王母娘娘对此也无奈，只好允许两人在每年七月七日于鹊桥相会。

The so-called river is actually the Milky⁵ Way，and the Weaving Girl and the Herd Boy are two stars.

所谓的天河就是银河，而牛郎、织女就是天上的两颗星。

It is said that on the Eve of Qiqiao Festival, if one stands under a wine trellis and tries really hard enough, one can hear the loving whisper of the Weaving Girl and the Herd Boy.

据说在这一天的晚上，如果静静地躲在葡萄架下，就能听到牛郎、织女说的悄悄话。

Because the Weaving Girl was a symbol of beauty, kind-heartedness and ingenuity, on the eve of this festival, girls would gather in the gardens or yards to pray to the Weaving Girl to bestow⁶ upon them intelligence and ingenious skills.

因为织女是一个美丽聪明、心灵手巧的仙女，所以凡间的女子便在这一天的晚上与女伴相约，在庭院或花园里朝天河 (即银河）中的牛、女二星焚香祭拜，默默祈祷自己的心愿，向织女乞求智慧，好让自己也变得心灵手巧。

There were also various activities on this day, such as eating qiaoguo, a kind of wheaten food in varying sizes and shapes and the competition of putting a thread as quickly as possible through the eye of a needle, etc.

过去，在这一天，人们要吃“巧果”（一种面食），姑娘们还会穿针引线验巧。

In some places in Shandong Province, the practice of eating qiaoguo is still popular. In recent years, some folk and official organizations have held a series of activities to revive the festival.

山东的一些地方，吃“巧果”的习惯仍然很普遍。