Spoiler Alert: Magpie birds flock together to form a bridge for two lovers to meet every year after being separated by the supreme god. It may not seem physically possible, but these birds actually brought back the smile into the weaver goddess and the mortal cowherd. They served as a bridge between two loving hearts. These were all taken from the ancient story that inspired the Qixi Festival. Keep reading the infographic below from
Forbidden Love Between Fairy and Moral
The QiXi Festival originated from the love story between Zhinu and Niulang, “The Weaver Girl and the Cowherd”. Zhinu is one of the seven daughters of the Empress in Heaven. She fell in love with the mortal Niulang and decided to spend their lives together in the human world. The Empress of Heaven forbade their love because a goddess is never allowed to love a mortal.
7th Day of the 7th Month
The two lovers persisted despite their situation, and in the end, moved the Empress of Heaven. She allowed her daughter to reunite with her family over a year on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar by summoning a flock of magpies to act as a bridge between the heaven and human world.