Isn’t there something so happy and light about Valentine’s Day (or your country’s equivalent)? Whether you spend it each year with your lifelong partner, a new lover, or by yourself, there’s something to be enjoyed and admired in this holiday. 

But have you ever stopped to wonder why so many cultures have a special day for romance and lovers? 

In China, this is the Qixi Festival. In this article, you’ll learn the origins of this holiday and how it’s celebrated today.

→ Are you single, and not really into the whole Qixi Festival/Valentine’s Day thing? We have just the article for you: National Single’s Day in China!

1. What is the Qixi Festival? 

The Chinese Qixi Festival (also called the Seven Sisters Festival or Chinese Valentine’s Day) is a special summertime holiday dedicated to lovers—and those looking for love. Traditionally, this holiday was celebrated mainly by young women who hoped to find a good spouse by demonstrating their strong abilities in feminine tasks (such as needlework). 

Do you know the 传说 (chuánshuō), or “legend,” behind this romantic holiday? 

According to the Qixi Festival story, there was a maiden who lived in the eastern part of the galaxy. Known as the Weaving Maiden, she was the Emperor of Heaven’s seventh and last daughter, and she spent her days working at the loom. Seeing that his daughter was lonely, the Emperor of Heaven took pity on her and allowed her to marry the Cowherd from the western side of the galaxy. But the Weaver and the Cowherd fell so much in love that the Weaver didn’t work as diligently as before. Furious, her father forced her to come back to him and continue weaving. He allowed the lovers to see each other only once a year. 

It’s said that the two are able to meet by crossing over a bridge of magpies that reaches from one end of the galaxy to the other. On the night of the Qixi Festival in China, people often watch the weather, hoping that it won’t rain or become too cloudy. This is because the rain will make it impossible for the couple to meet via 鹊桥 (Quèqiáo), or “the bridge of magpies.” 

Interestingly, there’s a special phenomenon that occurs each year during the Qixi Festival: The stars of 织女星 (Zhīnǚ Xīng), or Vega, and 牛郎星 (Niúláng Xīng), or Altair, shine brighter than they do the rest of the year. These stars represent the Weaving Maiden and the Cowherd, respectively, and there’s a third star that rests between them, representing the magpie bridge. 

→ See our lists of Weather Conditions and Essential Summertime Vocabulary and impress native speakers with your language skills.

2. When is the Qixi Festival This Year?

Each year, the Qixi Festival takes place on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. Here are the holiday’s dates on the Gregorian calendar for the next ten years.

• 2020: August 25
• 2021: August 14
• 2022: August 4
• 2023: August 22
• 2024: August 10
• 2025: July 31
• 2026: August 19
• 2027: August 8
• 2028: July 28
• 2029: August 16

By the way, check out this Lunar-to-Gregorian conversion chart and never miss another Chinese holiday! 

3. How the Qixi Festival is Celebrated 

Traditionally, Qixi Festival activities were mainly geared toward young women. This was a day for them to show off their skills in feminine tasks, such as needlework, which were considered valuable traits for a wife to have. The young women would go to the temples, offer paper sacrifices to the Seven Sisters (the Emperor of Heaven’s seven daughters), and pray for the improvement of their skills and for a good husband. 

These Qixi Festival traditions aren’t quite as popular today as they were in Ancient China, though some young women do still partake in good-hearted competitions involving things like needlework and other handcrafts. Today, the Qixi Festival is more about 恋爱 (liàn’ài), or “romance,” lending this holiday the nickname of “Chinese Valentine’s Day.”

Like Valentine’s Day in the West, couples in China often give each other gifts, and those who want to go above and beyond may plan a special date night with their loved one. While in the West, we see couples giving each other flowers and chocolates, Qixi Festival gifts more often include a comb and a love locket. The comb represents a lifelong commitment between the couple, while the love locket represents eternal love. 

China is alive with fun events throughout the holiday, including dances, laser light shows, and of course, stargazing. If you happen to be in China during the festival, it’s a perfect time to taste-test some common holiday dishes and snacks! Qixi Festival food options typically include sugar treats that are shaped like women, dumplings, and sweet sesame-flavored pastries. (You can read more on this subject on TravelChinaGuide.com!)

→ Visiting China for the Qixi Festival with your love? Want to make your Chinese S.O. feel special this year? Check out our vocabulary lists of the Top 10 Most Romantic Ideas for a Date in Chinese and Common Chinese Phrases You’ll Need for a Date. 

4. Long-Distance Relationships…

Have you ever been in a long-distance relationship, or known someone who was? If so, you know how tough it is to be so far away from your loved one for extended periods of time. Even if you talk every day, it’s not quite the same as having them there next to you. 

In China, it’s common to jokingly refer to couples in a long-distance relationship as being “just like the Weaving Maiden and the Cowherd.” 

If you’re far from your lover or life partner right now, we hope you’ll be able to see them soon, just as the Weaving Maiden and Cowherd do once a year. 

→ Here are 15 Chinese Love Phrases you can say to your lover when you meet again.

→ And here are a few more Essential Idioms That Will Make You Sound Like a Native Speaker. 

5. Essential Qixi Festival Vocabulary

Let’s review some of the Chinese vocabulary from this article! 

• Valentine’s Day – 情人节 (Qíngrén Jié)
• Vega – 织女星 (Zhīnǚ Xīng)
• Altair – 牛郎星 (Niúláng Xīng)
• Jade Emperor – 玉皇大帝 (Yùhuáng Dà Dì)
• Legend – 传说 (chuánshuō)
• Milky Way – 银河 (yínhé)
• Niulang – 牛郎 (Niúláng)
• Romance – 恋爱 (liàn’ài)
• The bridge of magpies – 鹊桥 (Quèqiáo)
• Zhinu – 织女 (Zhīnǚ)
• Qixi Festival – 七夕 (Qīxī)

Remember that you can check out our Chinese Qixi Festival vocabulary list to study these words further, hear their pronunciation, and add them to your flashcard deck! 

Final Thoughts

Are you ready for a romantic date night under the stars of Vega and Altair? Or a solo adventure through the flashing, colorful streets of China?

We hope you enjoyed learning about the Chinese Qixi Festival with us, and that you walk away from this article with a better understanding of Chinese culture. If you’re really into learning about this unique culture, by the way, we have a special blog archive of articles related to Chinese culture and holidays, so be sure to check it out! 

Which Qixi Festival activities would you most like to participate in? And more importantly: What’s your favorite date night activity? Let us know in the comments!

Happy Qixi Festival from the ChineseClass101.com team. 😉