While the Western Valentine’s Day on February 14th has been adopted in many parts of Asia, Asian countries have their own rich traditions of love festival legends and customs. These stories reflect the unique cultural values and romantic ideals of each region.
China: Qixi Festival – The Legend of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl
China’s most famous romantic legend is the story of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl, celebrated during the Qixi Festival on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.
The Legend: The Weaver Girl (Zhinü) was the daughter of the Heavenly Emperor, responsible for weaving clouds in the heavens. She fell in love with the Cowherd (Niulang), a poor but kind-hearted oxherd from the mortal world. The two fell deeply in love, married, had two children, and lived a happy life.
However, when the Queen Mother of Heaven discovered that the Weaver Girl had married a mortal, she became furious and used her hairpin to draw the Milky Way, separating them. The Cowherd and Weaver Girl were forever divided on opposite banks of the Silver River, only able to gaze at each other from afar.
Their love moved the magpies, and every year on the seventh day of the seventh month, thousands of magpies fly together to form a bridge, allowing the lovers to briefly reunite once. This day is considered China’s traditional Valentine’s Day.
Cultural Significance: This legend emphasizes unwavering loyalty in love, the pain of spousal separation, and eternal hope for reunion. Traditionally, young women would pray to the Weaver Girl on this day for skillful hands and a good marriage.
Japan: Tanabata and White Day
Japan adopted the Qixi legend from China, calling it “Tanabata” (たなばた), celebrated on July 7th or in August.
Japanese Version: Japan’s Cowherd and Weaver Girl legend (Orihime and Hikoboshi) is essentially the same, but the celebration methods differ. People hang colored paper strips (tanzaku) with written wishes on bamboo branches, hoping their wishes will come true, especially those related to skill improvement and love.
White Day: Japan also created the unique “White Day” (March 14th) as a response to Western Valentine’s Day. According to this modern “legend,” men should reciprocate gifts to women who gave them presents on February 14th, usually with white chocolate or other white gifts. This custom of triple-value return gifts (“sanbai gaeshi”) has become part of Japanese romantic culture.
Korea: Multiple Valentine’s Day Traditions
Korea doesn’t have a single ancient love legend but has developed a complex modern Valentine’s Day culture, with love-related days almost every month.
February 14th (Valentine’s Day): Women give chocolate to men.
March 14th (White Day): Men reciprocate with candy to women.
April 14th (Black Day): Singles wear black clothes and eat black bean noodles (jjajangmyeon), collectively lamenting their single status.
May 14th (Rose Day) and June 14th (Kiss Day), among others, continue this tradition.
These modern “legends” reflect Korean youth culture’s emphasis on romantic relationships and commercialization, though they lack ancient mythological roots.
Vietnam: Weaver Girl and Cowherd and Mid-Autumn Festival
Vietnam also celebrates a legend similar to China’s Cowherd and Weaver Girl, called “Ngưu Lang Chức Nữ.”
Vietnamese Version: The story is essentially the same, but in Vietnamese culture, this legend is also associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival (Tết Trung Thu). The Mid-Autumn Festival focuses more on children and family reunions, but the Cowherd and Weaver Girl story remains a symbol of romantic love in literature and folk art.
Nguyễn Du’s “The Tale of Kiều”: Vietnam’s most famous love story may be the narrative poem “The Tale of Kiều” (Truyện Kiều) created by 19th-century poet Nguyễn Du. This tragic love story tells of the beautiful and talented Thúy Kiều who sacrifices her own happiness to save her family, embodying the conflict between filial piety and love.
India: Diverse Love Legends
India possesses rich love mythology from Hinduism, Buddhism, and local traditions.
Radha and Krishna: One of the most famous love stories in Hinduism is the divine love between Radha and Krishna. Their love is seen as the perfect union between the soul and the divine, symbolizing spiritual love that transcends the worldly. This story is especially celebrated during the spring festival of Holi.
Shiva and Parvati: The marriage of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati represents the cosmic balance of yin and yang. Their union is celebrated during Maha Shivaratri and is considered the ideal exemplar of marriage and devotion.
Savitri and Satyavan: This epic story tells how the faithful wife Savitri won back her husband’s life from the god of death through wisdom and persistence. This legend is celebrated during Vat Savitri, when married women pray for their husbands’ longevity.
Modern Controversy: In recent years, Western Valentine’s Day has caused controversy in India, with some conservative groups believing it conflicts with traditional Indian culture, but younger generations still celebrate it enthusiastically.
Thailand: Legends of King Narai and Goddesses
Thailand doesn’t have a single “Valentine’s Day” legend but has many love stories integrated with Buddhist and Hindu traditions.
Incarnations of King Narai: According to Thai versions of Vishnu’s incarnation legends, Narai (Vishnu) took many forms to come to earth and save the world, some of which involve romantic love stories, particularly the story of Rama and Sita (Ramakien).
Mae Thorani and the God of Love: In Thai mythology, the god of love Phra Kama (derived from the Indian Kamadeva) shoots people with flower arrows, making them fall in love. While there’s no dedicated festival, these images are common in Thai art and literature.
Romance of Loi Krathong: Thailand’s Loi Krathong festival (usually held in November) has become a romantic festival for couples. Couples float krathongs together, praying for good fortune and eternal love, although the festival’s origins are unrelated to romantic love.
Philippines: Maria Makiling and Lost Love
Philippine legends blend pre-Spanish colonial mythology with Catholic traditions.
The Legend of Maria Makiling: Maria Makiling is a fairy or goddess who guards Mount Makiling. The most famous version tells of her falling in love with a mortal, but ultimately becoming heartbroken due to betrayal or human greed and retreating back into the mountain.
This story has multiple versions, but all involve impossible love crossing the boundary between divine and mortal, and how human behavior destroys this pure love. Maria Makiling has become a symbol of lost love and nature’s guardian.
Western Influence: As a former Spanish and American colony, the Philippines widely celebrates Western Valentine’s Day and incorporates local traditional courtship customs such as “harana” (serenade).
Indonesia: Rama and Sita, and Local Legends
Indonesia, as the world’s largest Muslim country, has a complex landscape of love legends.
Indonesian Version of Ramayana: The epic love story of Prince Rama and Princess Sita is widely circulated in Indonesia, especially in Java and Bali, through shadow puppet theater (Wayang). Rama’s epic journey to rescue Sita, who was kidnapped by the demon king Ravana, symbolizes loyalty, sacrifice, and virtue triumphing over evil.
The Legend of Sangkuriang: This legend from West Java tells the tragic story of Prince Sangkuriang who inadvertently falls in love with his own mother, Dayang Sumbi. To avoid incest, the mother sets an impossible task: build a lake and a boat in one night. This story explains the formation of Mount Tangkuban Perahu and the local landscape while warning of the consequences of forbidden love.
Malaysia and Singapore: Multicultural Fusion
These multicultural societies blend love legends from different ethnic groups.
Malay Traditions: Malay classical literature such as the Malay Annals (Sejarah Melayu) and the Hikayat Hang Tuah contain stories of courtly love and loyalty, often emphasizing how honor, duty, and social status affect romantic relationships.
Chinese Influence: Chinese communities in Malaysia and Singapore celebrate Qixi Festival, maintaining the traditional legend of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl.
Indian Traditions: Indian communities celebrate festivals such as Deepavali (Diwali), which includes the reunion story of Rama and Sita.
Common Themes and Differences
Looking across Asian love legends, several common themes emerge:
Separation and Reunion: Many legends (especially the Cowherd and Weaver Girl) emphasize lovers forced to separate and their longing for reunion.
Sacrifice and Loyalty: From Vietnam’s Thúy Kiều to India’s Savitri, female characters often sacrifice their own happiness for love or family.
Love Across Boundaries: Love between gods and mortals, and between different social classes, is a recurring theme, often bringing tragic consequences.
Morality and Social Order: Unlike Western Valentine’s Day’s emphasis on individual romance, Asian legends often place love within the larger context of social, family, and cosmic order.
Modernization and Tradition: Many Asian countries now celebrate Western Valentine’s Day while maintaining traditional love festivals, creating a unique blend of old and new.
These legends continue to shape how people across Asia understand love, devotion, and romance, even in an era of globalization and modern consumer culture.