Chinese Valentine’s Day

The Qixi Festival originated in the Han Dynasty. According to historical documents, at least three or four thousand years ago, with people’s understanding of astronomy and the emergence of textile technology, there were records about Altair and Vega. The Qixi Festival also originated from the ancient people’s worship of time. “Qi” is homophonic with “Qi”, and both the month and the day are “Qi”, which gives people a sense of time. The ancient Chinese called the sun, the moon, and the five planets of water, fire, wood, gold, and earth “Qi Yao”. The number seven is reflected in the stage of time in the folk, and “Qi Qi” is often used as the end when calculating time. In old Beijing, when performing a Taoist ceremony for the deceased, it is often considered complete after “Qi Qi”. The calculation of the current “week” with “Qi Yao” is still retained in Japanese. “Qi” is homophonic with “Ji”, and “Qi Qi” also means double Ji, which is an auspicious day. In Taiwan, July is called the “happy and auspicious” month. Because the shape of the word “Xi” in cursive script is like the continuous “Qi Qi”, seventy-seven years old is also called “Xi Shou”.
The seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, commonly known as the Chinese Valentine’s Day, is also called the “Qiqiao Festival” or “Daughter’s Day”. It is the most romantic of China’s traditional festivals.