Chinese Valentine’s Day (Qixi)
Oppa: Baby, what kind of gift would you like to get on Qixi ? (August 25th)
Yena: Well… two gifts. One is always taking care of yourself, the other one is… if possible… write me another poem.
Oppa: … I will give it my best shot!!! 😁
Yena: You are the most loving, caring and faithful man I’ve ever known.
Oppa: Only to you. (최고의 사랑꾼 ❤👍)
Narration
Hey, I am Xixi. In summer when looking at up at the starry sky, Chinese people usually try to look for the two bright stars near the Milky way. They are Aquila the Cowherd and Lyra the Girl Weaver. Chinese people believe it will bring them good luck and love if they can find them. The two stars are closely related with the Double Seventh Festival known as the Chinese Valentine’s Day. As its name implies, the Double Seventh Festival is the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. The Cowherd star and the Girl Weaver star were believe to be the two lovers in folk legends.
The Cowherd was a young man on earth, he fell in love with the Girl Weaver, a daughter of Jade Emperor in the heaven after the Queen Mother learned of their love, she created the Milky Way through her magic to separate the two lovers. Such a seemingly love tragedy has a surprisingly happy ending. A group of considerate birds – magpies which are known as messengers of happiness in Chinese culture would fly together and build a magpie bridge across the Milky Way on the seventh of the seventh lunar month each year for the two lovers to meet.
On the Double Seventh Festival, single girls especially those with a close relationship would get together and pray to the Cowherd star and the Girl Weaver star for a Mr. Right.
There’s another custom called “QiQiao”, begging for the skills. The Girl Weaver star is believed to be a very clever in mind and skillful in hand. On the Double Seventh Festival, girls in many places in China would offer steamed buns and fruits as sacrifices and hold contests of sewing, paper cutting and embroidery. They do this and hope that the Girl Weaver star can teach them more about girl skills.
Now the Western Valentine’s Day is now being accepted by more and more young Chinese people. Well, Chinese people are smart enough to combine western and Chinese culture together. Thus, the Double Seventh Festival is called Chinese Valentine’s Day and becomes popular among both the traditional elder generation and the young people in life. So now we’ve got a clear answer to the above question. In China people celebrate two Valentine’s Days. On the night of the Double Seventh Day, it is hard to book a table at a restaurant. The gift stores are full of people too. Many married and unmarried couples all long to have a delicious dinner together and receive flowers and presents. Most importantly, the Chinese Valentine’s Day is not only a chance to express your love to someone, but also a good symbol of staying faithful to love in spite of all the possible difficulties. On such a beautiful day, people would all long for love.
