Qixi Festival 2020: History and Significance of the Chinese Valentine’s Day

Qixi Festival (Chinese: 七夕節), otherwise called the Qiqiao Festival (Chinese: 乞巧節), Double Seventh Festival, Chi Hsi Festival or the Magpie Festival – once in a while referred to as the China Valentine’s Day – happens on the seventh day of the seventh month on the Chinese Lunar Calendar. This year it falls on August 25 in 2020.

Origin of Qixi Festival

The story goes that Zhi Nu, a goddess famous for her weaving abilities, went to the human world and met a cow herder named Niu Lang. The two began to look all starry eyed at, got married, and had two children. In any case, when Zhi Nu’s mom, the queen mother of heaven, got some answers concerning their union, she got furious and irate, taking Zhi Nu back to heaven.

Niu Lang was heartbroken. Be that as it may, an old cow that Niu Lang had once safeguarded uncovered that he was a god harmed in the human world and offered him his skin once he died. He told Niu Lang his leather could be used to make shoes that could fly him to heaven.

At the point when the cow died, Niu Lang endeavored to discover Zhi Nu with their children, however, the queen mother of heaven used her hairpin to make a stream of stars that would turn into the Milky Way to isolate the two lovers. Their cries contacted the magpies so much that a great many them formed a bridge for the couple to walk over the river. In the end, the queen-mother yielded and consented to let the couple meet one night out of every year on Qi Xi, which implies the seventh night, which they do with the assistance of their magpie companions.

How to celebrate the Qixi Festival

Qi Xi has since come to represent genuine love. In antiquated times, girls would offer fruits and food to Zhi Nu on the night of the festival, petitioning God for able hands like the goddess’ to weave with so they can locate their optimal spouses. Kids would likewise get wildflowers to hold tight an ox’s horns in memory of the cow-god who sacrificed himself.

Festivals across more noteworthy China today praise a wide range of traditions to pay tribute to Qi Xi. In China’s southeastern city Shaoxing (connect in Chinese), girls cover-up in pumpkins farms, believing the individuals who can hear the whispers of Niu Lang and Zhi Nu would discover love soon. In the Hunan region (connect in Chinese), ladies bring water from the mountains. Trusting it to be sacred, they wash their hair with so they can be honored by Zhi Nu. Some even gather dew—symbolizing tears from the couple—in the early morning following Qi Xi, believing that drinking it would make them more brilliant. In Taiwan, individuals release floating lamps (connect in Chinese) into the sky to make wishes for love.

Confusingly, Qi Xi isn’t the only Valentine’s Day that Chinese individuals celebrate. They likewise celebrate love on Feb. 14 as well as the Lantern Festival (additionally once in a while called Chinese Valentine’s Day in English), which happens over the Lunar New Year. Yet, similar to the Western holiday, nowadays of love have gotten commercialized by hotels, chocolate organizations, flower sellers, and their kind.

During this festival, a festoon is put in the yard. Single and recently married ladies make contributions to Niulang and Zhinü, which may incorporate fruit, flowers, tea, and face powder. In the wake of completing the contributions, half of the face powder is thrown on the rooftop and the other half isolated among the young ladies. It is believed that by doing this, the ladies are bound in beauty with Zhinü. Stories state that it will rain on this game-changing day if there’s crying in heaven. Different stories state that you can hear the lovers talking on the off potential for success that you have under grapevines on this night.

On this day, the Chinese look to the sky to search for Vega and Altair shining in the Milky Way, while a third star forms a symbolic bridge between the two stars. It was said that on the off chance that it rains on this day that it was brought about by a river clearing ceaselessly the magpie bridge, or that the rain is the tears of the isolated couple. In light of the legend of a flock of magpies forming a bridge to rejoin the couple, a couple of magpies came to represent matrimonial bliss and steadfastness.