Both faithful readers know that we don’t go out on Valentine’s Day (February 14) because the restaurants are always too crowded, many have limited menus and we just find it generally more trouble than its worth. We usually go out a day before or after to celebrate the day in February.
But luckily, come August, Chinese Valentine’s Day appears — and we can go out without those “maddening crowds.”
Actually yesterday was the Qixi Festival or Double Seven Festival and has always been the most romantic of traditional Chinese festivals, and especially since China’s globalization, it’s become known as Chinese Valentine’s Day. The day falls on the 7th day of the 7th Chinese lunar month. This year, in 2023, that was yesterday — August 22.
Today in also sometimes referred to as The Daughter’s Festival — a day dedicated to unmarried young girls looking for love.If you’re interested in the detailed background for this celebration, you can check the archives of this blog. But basically, this festival began because of an old Chines love story about the 7th daughter of the Emperor of Heaven and and an orphaned cowherd (someone that tends grazing cattle.) The emperor separated them and the 7th daughter was forced to move to the star Vega and the coward moved to the star Altair. They are allowed to meet only once a year on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month.
This festival is celebrated in China, but it’s not a public holiday. And unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, even in China, Western Valentine’s Day in now more popular than the Qixi Festival.
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