今天是一年一度的七夕节，牛郎与织女团聚的日子。 “七夕”用英文怎么说？乞巧习俗、牛郎织女故事用英文怎么表达？和小民一起补补课吧～
七夕用英文怎么说？
七夕节是中国传统节日之一，每年农历（the lunar calendar）七月初七这一天，是我国汉族的传统节日七夕节。
七夕节有“乞巧”的风俗，且由来已久，古时年轻女孩子们在这一天乞求巧夺天工的好手艺，同时会乞求一段美好姻缘。
七夕节在英语中的表达有很多种，因为七夕节又被叫做“乞巧节”，因此可以称作 The Begging Festival 。
此外还有 Double-Seventh Day、Chinese Valentine's Day、Qixi Festival, 而最常用的是 Magpie/ˈmæɡpaɪ/Festival 。magpie 指的是“喜鹊”。传说牛郎和织女每年于鹊桥（The Magpie-Bridge） 相会，由此就有了 Magpie Festival 的说法。而牛郎织女的故事也成为如今七夕节流传最广泛的起源传说。
一起来看维基百科对中国七夕节的介绍：
The Qixi Festival, also known as the Qiqiao Festival, is a Chinese festival that celebrates the annual meeting of the cowherd and weaver girl in Chinese mythology.
It falls on the seventh day of the 7th month on the Chinese calendar. It is sometimes called the Double Seventh Festival, the Chinese Valentine's Day, the Night of Sevens, or the Magpie Festival.
The Qixi Festival, also known as the Qiqiao Festival, is a Chinese festival that celebrates the annual meeting of the cowherd and weaver girl in Chinese mythology.
It falls on the seventh day of the 7th month on the Chinese calendar. It is sometimes called the Double Seventh Festival, the Chinese Valentine's Day, the Night of Sevens, or the Magpie Festival.
七夕关键词
1. The Begging Festival 乞巧节
“乞巧”的这个“乞”，我们可以说 beg ，也可以用 plead 这个词。乞巧就可以翻译为 plead to be endowed with perfect sewing skills.
2. doing needlework 针线活
七夕有乞巧的风俗，乞巧是女孩子为了精进自己的女红手艺，女红 （注：这里的“红”读音是“工”，不要读错了），也就是针线活，用英语说就是 doing needlework。
3. lunar calendar 阴历
现在通行的阳历是 solar calendar。lunar表示“月亮的”，英文名 Luna其实是月亮女神的名字。
4. cowherd 放牛人，牛郎
同样的一个词是 shepherd ，羊倌，两个词都有一个-herd后缀，herd有“放牧人”的意思，不过通常都是作为后缀来构成“XX牧人”的词。
5. magpie 喜鹊
虽然在七夕的传说中，喜鹊给情人们带来幸福，但是 magpie 这个词却有一个贬义的用法，就是用来形容话多的人。
例句：
She chatters like a magpie.
她说起话来就没个完。
She chatters like a magpie.
她说起话来就没个完。
“乞巧”的风俗
七夕之夜，未婚女子通常会向织女星乞巧，也会乞求姻缘。
On that night, unmarried girls prayed to the Weaving Maid star for the special gift.
她们将一根针放在水面上，倘若针不下沉的话，她们就能得偿所愿。
When the star Vega was high up in the sky, girls performed a small test by placing a needle on the water's surface: If the needle did not sink, the girl was considered to be ready to find a husband.
据说这一晚女孩子们能祈求任何心愿成真。
Once a year, on this day, girls could wish for anything their hearts desired.
关于七夕的诗词
古往今来，有关七夕节的诗词数量繁多，我们选取具有代表性的两首——秦观的《鹊桥仙》和汉代乐府诗歌《上邪》，与大家一同欣赏许渊冲先生的英译↓
鹊桥仙
纤云弄巧，飞星传恨，银汉迢迢暗渡。
金风玉露一相逢，便胜却人间无数。
柔情似水，佳期如梦，忍顾鹊桥归路。
两情若是久长时，又岂在朝朝暮暮。
Immortals at the Magpie Bridge
Clouds float like works of art,
Stars shoot with grief at heart,
Across the Milky Way the Cowherd meets the Maid.
When Autumn’s Golden Wind embraces Dew of Jade,
All the loves screens on earth, however many, fade.
Their tender love flows like a stream,
Their happy date seems but a dream,
How can they bear a separate homeward way?
If love between both sides can last for aye,
Why need they stay together night and day?
（许渊冲 译）
上邪
上邪!
我欲与君相知，长命无绝衰。
山无陵，江水为竭。
冬雷震震，夏雨雪 。
天地合 ，乃敢与君绝!
The Pledge
Oh heaven high！
I will love him forever till I die,
Till mountains crumble,
Rivers run dry,
In winter thunder rumble,
In summer snow fall far and nigh,
And the earth mingle with the sky,