People in the world know Valentine Day falls on 14th of February. However China has its own love day that this year will fall on 20th August.
The Qixi Festival (七夕节), also known as the Qiqiao Festival (乞巧节), 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. This is an important festival, especially for young girls.
Mythology
A young cowherd, Niulang , met Zhinü , the seventh daughter of the Goddess, who just has escaped from boring heaven to look for fun. Zhinü soon fell in love with Niulang, and they got married without the knowledge of the Goddess. Zhinü proved to be a wonderful wife, and Niulang to be a good husband. They lived happily and had two children. But the Goddess of Heaven found out that Zhinü, a fairy girl, had married a mere mortal. The Goddess was furious and ordered Zhinü to return to heaven, forced the fairy back to her former duty of weaving colorful clouds, a task she neglected while living on earth with a mortal. On Earth, Niulang was very upset that his wife had disappeared. Suddenly, his ox began to talk, telling him that if he killed it and put on its hide, he would be able to go up to Heaven to find his wife. Crying bitterly, he killed the ox, put on the skin, and carried his two beloved children off to Heaven to find Zhinü. The Goddess discovered this and was very angry. Taking out her hairpin, the Goddess scratched a wide river in the sky to separate the two lovers forever, thus forming the Milky Way between Altair and Vega.
Zhinü must sit forever on one side of the river, sadly weaving on her loom, while Niulang watches her from afar while taking care of their two children.
But once a year all the magpies in the world would take pity on them and fly up into heaven to form a bridge (“the bridge of magpies”, Que Qiao) over the star Deneb in the Cygnus constellation so the lovers may be together for a single night, which is the seventh night of the seventh moon.
Old Tradition
Traditionally, this festival is a time for young Chinese girls to demonstrate their domestic arts (e.g. sewing, melon carving) and pray for intelligence, good needle work and marital happiness. A girl might even drop a needle in the water, and if it doesn’t sink, that means she’s mature enough to find a husband!
Modern Celebration
These days the Qi Xi is celebrated much like the February 14th Valentine’s Day with material gifts and romantic gestures. Most young generation are not following the old tradition anymore and used it as the day to show love.
Chocolate, flowers and cards are common things that be bought on this day and usually are presented from guys’ sides to the girls’ sides.
Happy Chinese Valentine! Happy Qi Xi Festival!
