How much do you know about Qixi Festival or Chinese Valentine's Day? Its Chinese name is 七夕节 (qī xī jié), or Double Seven Festival. Let's look at the story behind it and share some insights on why it is so popular in China.

[Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

When is Qixi Festival celebrated?

It's celebrated on the 7th day of the 7th month of the Chinese Lunar calendar.

In 2024, it falls on Saturday, Aug 10.

Origins

In the beginning, this festival served quite a different purpose: it was the day when girls showcased their needlework skills. They also prayed to the Goddess Zhinyu for ingenuity, that's why the original name of this festival was 乞巧节 (qǐ qiǎo jié), literally, "ingenuity-begging-festival".

Love story: Weaver Girl & Cowherd

The two protagonists in the story behind Qixi Festival are 织女 (zhī nǚ) the Goddess Zhinyu, also known as the weaver girl, and 牛郎 (niú láng), the cowherd.

Once upon a time, there was a fairy called 织女 (zhī nǚ), literally, "weaving-girl". She came from the family of the powerful Jade Emperor, who rules Heaven.

One day, she went down to Earth with her friends. There she met a boy called ‎牛郎 (niú láng), literally "cow herder-boy". They instantly fell in love with each other. Zhinyu decided to stay on Earth and got married to Niulang without her family's permission. They lived together for several years and had two kids together.

Unfortunately, her family found out about the situation and got very angry, because it was unacceptable for a fairy to get married to a human. So, the Jade Emperor took her from their house and brought her back to Heaven.

To stop Zhinyu from running away again, he created the Milky Way (银河, yín hé) to separate the lovers. The lovers could no longer see each other. Zhinyu would spend all day crying on the other side of the Milky Way.

The sound of her crying was heard by the whole world. On the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, thousands of magpies gathered and used their bodies to make a bridge across the Milky Way. Thanks to this compassionate act, Niulang and Zhinyu could meet on the bridge! From then on, this day became the only time of the year when the two could be with each other again.

Star facts

Did you know that this story literally originated in the sky?

Ancient people observed the stars and noticed that two very bright stars (Altair & Vega, part of the famous Summer Triangle), are on two opposite sides of the Milky Way. On the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, these stars get very close to each other, so people worshipped their ”reunion”.

Niulang's star: Altair | 天鹰座 (tiān yīng zuò)

It's sometimes called 牵牛星 (qiān niú xīng), or the "Cowherd Star";

Zhinyu's star: Vega | 天琴座 (tiān qín zuò)

It's sometimes called 织女星 (zhī nǚ xīng), or the "Weaver Girl Star".

Celebrating Qixi

In modern times, couples in China celebrate Qixi Festival just like they would celebrate Valentine's Day — by giving gifts, flowers and chocolate, as well as going on romantic dates. And, of course, by sending their Qixi wishes!

七夕节快乐！

qī xī jié kuài lè!

Happy Qixi Festival!

How come the ancient Chinese created the story of Niulang and Zhinyu after seeing the stars?

古人发现天上有两颗非常亮的星星被银河分开。

gǔ rén fā xiàn tiān shàng yǒu liǎng kē fēi cháng liàng de xīng xing bèi yín hé fēn kāi.

Ancient people found that there were two very bright stars in the sky, separated by the Milky Way.

一个像两只角三只足的牛，一个像织布的女孩儿。

yī gè xiàng liǎng zhī jiǎo sān zhī zú de niú, yī gè xiàng zhī bù de nǚ hái er.

One of the stars looked like a cow with two horns and three feet, and the other resembled a weaver girl.

联系当时的中国社会情况是男耕女织(男的种田，女的织布)，就把他们命名为牵牛星和织女星。

lián xì dāng shí de zhōng guó shè huì qíng kuàng shì nán gēng nǚ zhī (nán de zhòng tián, nǚ de zhī bù), jiù bǎ tā men mìng míng wéi qiān niú xīng hé zhī nǚ xīng.

In Chinese society at that time, men did farm work and women did the weaving, so they named the two stars Cowherd Star & Weaver Girl Star.

后来就有了牛郎和织女的故事。

hòu lái jiù yǒu le niú láng hé zhī nǚ de gù shi.

And then the story of the Cowherd & Weaver Girl came to life.

Source: That's Mandarin