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According to ancient tradition, the Qixi Festival, celebrated on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month each year, is associated with the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. Legend says that the Cowherd was a poor but hardworking and kind-hearted cowherd. He won the affection of the Weaver Girl, the youngest daughter of the Queen Mother, who specialized in weaving the five-colored clouds in the sky.
The two married and spent many happy years together, having a son and a daughter. One day, the Weaver Girl had to return to the celestial realm by order of the Jade Emperor. The Cowherd, heartbroken, chased after her, but was blocked by the Heavenly River, the boundary between the mortal and immortal realms. And so, the Cowherd remained there, waiting, refusing to leave.
From then on, a star appeared beside the Milky Way, and people called it the Cowherd Star. Out of compassion for the Cowherd's sincere love, the Queen Mother agreed to let them meet once a year on the Seventh Day of the Seventh Lunar Month (the Qixi Festival).
Eating red bean sweet soup is believed to bring good luck in love.
In Asia, Tanabata is a major festival celebrated elaborately with various cultural activities depending on the country. The traditional name for this day in Japan is Tanabata. The Tanabata festival is decorated with bamboo branches everywhere, such as schools, gardens, and fields. Along with the bamboo branches are good wishes written and attached by the Japanese, praying for good fortune in the future. Couples in Japan often visit Shinto shrines on Tanabata to pray for a lasting and happy relationship.
Chilseok is the name of the Tanabata festival in Korea. Traditionally, on this day, Koreans take an early bath to pray for good health. Wheat-based foods such as toast and wheat flour cakes are traditional dishes on this day. Koreans consider this a holiday to fully enjoy the flavors of wheat.
The common theme of the Qixi Festival in many countries is praying for blessings and marital happiness. Therefore, although Vietnam doesn't celebrate many major holidays, it also has many unique activities. On the 7th day of the 7th lunar month in particular, and the 7th lunar month in general, our ancestors traditionally believed that weddings should not be held. Every year on this day, couples often go to temples to pray for a strong and lasting love. Couples also often gaze at the stars of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl on the night of the 7th lunar month. People believe that gazing at the stars of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl together on Qixi Festival will ensure they stay together forever.
Young people in Vietnam spread the word that eating red beans on this day will help them find a partner quickly, and couples in love will love each other even more deeply. Therefore, red bean porridge, red bean milk, red bean soup, and especially red bean sweet soup are often sold out on this day. This "rumor" originates from the belief that the red color of red beans symbolizes good luck.
This color is believed to bring good fortune into the home, warding off bad luck and sorrow. Furthermore, the fate of the person possessing the red bean will improve, their love life will flourish, and everything will go smoothly because the red bean is believed to "transform misfortune into good fortune."
Decoding the rumors
However, young Vietnamese people have a misunderstanding about eating red bean sweet soup on the Qixi Festival. The bean symbolizing this day in China is the love bean or red bean. This type of bean is also red, but its shape is completely different from the red beans in Vietnam.
Love beans are a type of bean that grows in the Lingnan region of China. The beans are small, slender, and somewhat heart-shaped, with a glossy, dark red outer shell. Notably, these beans are very hard, their color is resistant to fading, and they are less susceptible to insect infestation or damage, thus they are considered a symbol of undying, unchanging love.
The love bean (or "love bean") is very prevalent in Chinese culture. An old story tells of a young man forced into military service during the Han Dynasty. His wife waited day after day under a tree at the village gate, weeping until she bled and died. After her death, bright red pods appeared on the tree. People believed these were the wife's tears of blood and called them "red beans" or "love beans."
This type of bean is found in several places in China, such as Yunnan and Hainan. It is also found south of the Yangtze River and in some other areas, but the seeds are smaller and have black tips; people call this bean "lover's tear."
In China, the love bean is considered a precious and auspicious seed, often strung into bracelets, necklaces, or placed in beautifully decorated glass jars as gifts for close friends or crushes. If two people are in love, they should give each other a string of red beans as a symbol of good luck. At weddings, brides often wear bracelets made of love beans on their wrists to wish for a long and happy life together with their groom.
In some places, people place red beans under their pillows after marriage to pray for a strong and lasting marital bond. Additionally, in some southern provinces of China, red beans are often given to children to symbolize peace and ward off evil spirits.
