Language of Love - 8. Chapter 8: “What holiday are we celebrating anyway?”

Chapter 8: “What holiday are we celebrating anyway?”

It’s that time of year again, when the Chinese holidays of summer begin to flourish in earnest. The August Moon Festival just occurred in Chinatown, where merchants, bankers, and insurance salesmen line the streets offering free key chains and account registration forms. Here’s an oddity that I recently came upon, the United States doesn’t really have many summer holidays. True, July 4^th is a Holiday for Americans, even though the signing of the Declaration of Independence occurred throughout the summer of 1776 and the Articles of Confederation were not adopted immediately. However, between July 4^th and September 2^nd Labor Day, there are no holidays. I am not sure about the lack of summer holidays in other Western European countries; though I do know Canada celebrates their national founding on July 1^st.

The August Moon Festival is stated to be on August 15^th of every year, literally anyways. However, its date in the Gregorian calendar is actually September 19^th on the lunar calendar. The lunar Chinese calendar is made out of a different cycle and also holds the potential for a “leap month”, i.e. a 13^th month. Unlike western superstition, Chinese people do not hold “13” as an unlucky number; instead ironically, Cantonese people hold the number 14 as unlucky. The number 14 is synonymous with death; in the Cantonese language, the word for “14” can be heard tonally as “Certain death”.

Anyway, I was walking around Chinatown and my phone began to buzz. I had just gotten another text:

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Him: Are you having fun today?

Me: How do you know?

Me: Are you back in town?

Him: No

Him: I heard from friends that they are doing Moon Festival today

Him: Wrong day though

Me: I know

Me: They need to conform to the western calendar

Him: Well Canada does not

Him: They have their festival next month

Him: On the right day

Me: Different between Americans and Canadians

Me: I guess

Him: Yeah

Me: Well I just got a dozen free key chains and pens

Me: And I am tempted to get an insurance policy from State Farm

Me: Just so I can get a gift card

Him: You are?

Me: No

Me: I don’t need a gift card to Yuen Bakery

Him: Anything interesting?

Me: Yeah

Me: There was a Cantonese Opera singer doing a live performance

Me: Not my thing but kind of cool

Him: Do you remember what is coming this Tuesday?

Me: No

Me: It is August 13

Me: Oh shit is it that day again

Me: I didn’t even get ghost money

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Now, I got confused with the timing of Chinese holidays. I remembered that traditionally August Moon Festival would fall on the Gregorian calendar right next to a Chinese Lunar Calendar Holiday, “The Hungry Ghost Festival”. I remembered my grandfather joking about Americans celebrating on August Moon Festival in Chinatown, when it was also part of the Hungry Ghost Festival. He said that they were, “You zanglǐ” or translated as “having a funeral”. I always wondered why Chinese Americans would host the two festivals so close to each other.

According to legend, the gates of Hell are opened on 14^th day of the 7^th month in the lunar calendar. The day marks the strongest approach of Yin energy in the Living realm and holds significance as a day of paying respect to the deceased. It also further reinforces the superstition that “14” is an unlucky number, synonymous with death.

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Him: That is next Tuesday on the 20

Me: Phew

Me: For a second there I thought I would get haunted

Him: You watch too many ghost movies

Me: Well they do come from the gates of hell

Him: Different in Chinese than American

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He’s right of course. In Chinese tradition, Hell is not only fire and brimstone; it is a society and community like the living world. The Chinese concept of Hell is that the upper level of Hell is a community for spirits that are unready to reincarnate into their next life. When they are ready, they cross what we call the “Naihe Qiao” or twilight junction, they drink the blind seer soup, and they reincarnate to the next life. The torture and punishment portion of hell is for horrible people in life with 18 separate levels, each successively worse than the others. When they have had enough punishment to properly cleanse their souls; they ascend upwards until reaching a point, where reincarnation is possible again. In essence, Chinese tradition in this area of redemption is actually very similar to Catholicism and Christian concepts of purgatory. However, Hell is not only a horrible place for bad people or people that have not done enough good to reach heaven in Chinese tradition; it is a transitioning realm before the cycle of life begins again.

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Me: So what is so special about this Tuesday?

Him: You never heard the story

Me: No

Him: Qixi Festival

Me: What is that?

Him: Zhinu and Niulang

Me: No idea

Him: The Cowherd and weaving goddess

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Shit, I forgot about Chinese variation of Valentine’s Day. It is the day that symbolizes eternal love in Chinese mythology. Classic Chinese mythology is like Greco-Roman Mythology; although, Chinese people actually maintain holidays based on our classic myths.

For starters, I should explain something about Taoism and its mythology. Originally, Taoism had no gods or goddesses; it was a religion of natural worship and understanding, i.e. the desire for scientific knowledge. The Tao can be described a Monotheistic entity or nature personified into one word; some modern adherents of theosophy point to this fact as a unifying factor in Eastern and Western beliefs. However according to Taoist mythology, human beings can ascend to a higher level of understanding and become Gods and Goddesses. No, it is not a joke, nor is it a science fiction notion invented by Stargate television creators; it’s a type of transcendental philosophical religious mixture. Understanding was not merely an appreciation of nature anymore after that idea began to spread in Taoism; it became a race to gain power over it.

Thus, the closer you were to understanding nature; the closer you would be able to reach ascension and become a God in Chinese mythology. However, while they were immortal Gods and Goddesses, they were also doomed to mortal emotional frailties and errors. Many Gods and Goddesses would be banished back to earth as humans. If they were still worse on earth; they were sent to Hell for reincarnation or punishment. The Chinese system of Gods and Goddesses are far less certain than western traditions.

With that said, I can start talking about the Cowherd and Weaving Goddess myth. It is quite tragic and beautiful. According to legend, a kindly cowherd, Niulang represented in the sky by Altair, had spotted a beautiful maiden, Zhinu represented in the sky by Vega, during his herding of cattle. She was looking for silk worms to get thread. He helped her out and they started falling in love with one another. They secretly met every day; the cowherd believing she was a beauty from a wealthy family, who would look down upon him, a simple cowherd with no fortune or land to call his own. Zhinu forsook her weaving duties and fell in love with Niulang; eventually desired to marry him. However one day, when they were exchanging their vows of love; the heavens split apart and the Gods descended. They told Niulang that Zhinu was one of seven goddesses involved in weaving silk for the Gods. She had violated her Godly duties and began a relationship with a mortal. They took her away to the sky. For years, Niulang mourned Zhinu departure and begged the Gods to free her. His oxen hearing the mournful cries he gave out for reconciliation with his Zhinu, offered him their skin, which can be used to fly to her. He did not wish to kill his loyal oxen, but they accepted their fate and wanted him to be happy. He took their skin and began to fly up to sky. However, the Gods seeing the mortal's attempt threw a heavenly river, the Milky Way, in his way. Niulang was trapped in the sky with no hope of seeing his lover and no chance of returning home. Zhinu seeing her lovers’ tragic situation wept for him. The news spread far and wide among all the creature of the earth, a group of birds hearing their tragic story flew into the sky and acted as a bridge for the two lovers to have a meeting once a year.

The story is filled with noted Chinese themes of love overcoming duty, the injustice of the world, loyalty due to good treatment, and the higher calling of Taoist order. Nature itself can overcome the Gods, which is something that Western religions would have found extremely blasphemous. The story is classical Chinese mythological love story.

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Me: I’ve heard the story

Me: We never celebrate in my home

Him: Oh, I am sorry

Me: Don’t be

Me: I didn’t know it was Tuesday until you told me

Him: Well I am enjoying my time in Toronto

Him: When are you coming up?

Me: Probably Wednesday

Him: I leave Tuesday night to go back to School

Me: I guess we can connect again

Me: When I come back

Him: Okay

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I went about my day and browsing of the August Moon Festival bazaar for a few more hours. It was nothing special to be honest, I just kept thinking about the chat the entire time. There was something that kept nagging me about it.

When I got home, I turned on my computer and began chatting with friends; something just came to my mind in the middle of the chat. Was he trying to make a romantic move? You don’t mention the most romantic day in the Chinese lunar calendar by accident. I guess I was lost in my thoughts and did not realize. I knew I could not change my plans and meet him on Tuesday. There was no way for him to meet me on Wednesday without raising flags back home. I guess like the lovers in the story, we were separated eternally by fate, unless something miraculous occurred to give a chance to meet.