I almost forgot to post, but today, in the Chinese Lunar calendar, is the 7th day of the 7th month. This is essentially the Chinese version of Valentine’s Day, called Qixi Qingren Jie.
The story that my mom told me (there are many variations of this story) is that a poor man called Niulang heard that if you steal the clothes of a fairy while she bathes, that fairy will become your wife. Niulang did this and married a fairy named Zhinü, and the two lived happily and loved each other very much.
When Zhinü brought her husband and their two children to her sky home, the sky king was furious that Zhinü had married an earth mortal. The sky queen took a hair pin and slashed a line in the sky to separate the two lovers - this line became the milky way, and on either side, you can see two particularly bright stars - one surrounded by two dimmer stars, representing Niulang and his two children, and the other surrounded by four dim stars, representing Zhinü and her loom shuttle.
The sky queen created the milky way on the 7th day of the 7th month, but she took pity on the two separated lovers, and proclaimed that on this day and this day only, every year, the two were allowed to meet. For this occasion, magpies would bridge the gap of the milky way, allowing Niulang and Zhinü to reunite.
Rain on 7/7 represents the tears of Niulang and Zhinü (and hey, it rained in San Diego today!)
So it’s basically the Chinese Lover’s Day!! Hope everyone has a good night :)