トリモノ帖

Today’s Doodle celebrates the Qixi Festival, also known as Qixi Valentine’s Day, a celebration of love observed in Taiwan each year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

The holiday traces its roots to an ancient Chinese story of forbidden romance. The legend tells of a human cow herder named Niúláng and a fairy named Zhinü–the daughter of the goddess of heaven–who fell in love and wed in secret. When Zhinü’s mother discovered that her daughter had married a mortal man, she forbade their love and demanded Zhinü return to heaven.

Niúláng attempted to find his wife in heaven, but the goddess created a river between them, known today as the Milky Way. Touched by Niúláng’s heartbreak, thousands of magpies formed a bridge over the river to reunite the couple, a scene reimagined in the Doodle artwork. In turn, the goddess agreed to allow the star-crossed lovers to meet once a year on this day.

In honor of the pair’s annual reunion, people across Taiwan take this day to celebrate the ones they love.

Happy Qixi Festival!