Qixi Festival, or Chinese Valentine’s Day, honors the reunion, love, and devotion between two lovers. This festival intertwines Chinese traditional values, folklore, and astronomy.
China’s traditional romantic festival is a cultural event that has been celebrated for over 2000 years. This day commemorates the tale of love and loyalty between Niulang and Zhinü.
Qixi Festival Date and Meaning
Qixi, or Qixijie, festival is broken down into three syllables. Qi means seven, xi stands for sunset, and jie means festival. So the Qixi festival means the seventh sunset festival.
Since its name is according to the traditional Chinese calendar, it is called the Double Seventh Festival, as it falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. The Qixi Festival in 2025 falls on August 29, which is a Friday.
It is not a public holiday, but people celebrate this beloved festival with sweet dumplings, stargazing, and paper lanterns.
Celebration of Qixi Festival
The Han Dynasty effectuated this festival, and people have been celebrating Qixi since then. Moreover, the Qixi festival is not celebrated as it was before in traditional times. People, according to the modern era, have made a few tweaks.
In traditional times, women used to showcase their threading skills, needlework, and worship of Zhinu. While children celebrated by hanging wildflowers on oxen’s horns. People on this day also used to pray for a great lover and weddings.
Of course, a festival is incomplete without the popular cultural dishes. People used to make qiǎo guǒ, thin, fried pastries in myriad shapes, flower melon, red bean soup, and sweet rice cakes.
How does China celebrate the Qixi Festival now?
Today, people celebrate mostly by giving gifts like handmade crafts, jewelry, chocolates, flowers, or maybe some other presents their loved ones wanted for a really long time. Couples also plan for romantic dates like spending time together, going for scenic walks, intimate dinners, and special outings.
What is the origin of the Qixi Festival?
If we keep it short and simple, it is about two lovers, who were God and Goddess, who were separated and forced to live independently. Every year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, they meet to exhibit their love and loyalty toward each other.
If we go into the details, Zhinu, a weaver girl, and Niulang, a cowherd, were so in love and were devoted toward each other. However, there is a nemesis in every story who creates trouble for the couple. In their case, it is their grandmother, the Queen Mother.
She separated them by forcing Zhinu to weave the clouds beautifully, and Niulang was abandoned on Earth. He and his old ox used to work hard. However, they got united with the help of an ox. They eventually got married on Earth, and she bore two children, one son and one daughter.
Their secret was spilled, resulting in their split. Zhinu was taken by her queen mother back to heaven. But she didn’t give up on her love. Magpies helped them to bridge the gap between them so they can meet annually on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.
How is Valentine’s Day different from the Qixi Festival?
These days commemorate love but have different origins and cultural backgrounds. Qixi originates from Chinese mythology and folklore, while Valentine’s Day has its roots in the Christian traditions. Valentine’s Day is usually celebrated in Western countries, and Qixi is the festival of East Asian countries.
The legendary tale of two lovers brought the Qixi festival into existence. However, Valentine’s Day revolves around the death of St. Valentine. Moreover, Valentine’s Day is fixed and is celebrated on 14 February, while the Qixi festival is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. So the date varies.
What’s more, according to the customs and traditions, the way of celebrating these days is also different.
Bottom line
Qixi reminds you to take care of the people you love dearly and be loyal no matter how difficult it seems. This festival beautifully fuses traditions, customs, romantic gestures, and modern-day celebrations.