The Qixi Festival (Chinese: 七夕节; literally “The Night of Sevens”) is the most romantic holiday among Chinese traditional festivals.
On a clear summer night, there is a vast expanse of Milky Way across the north and south like a bridge. And on the east and west coasts of the river, Altair is sitting distant with Vega.
It is said that the two stars is the embodiment of Cowherd and Weaver Girl. Every night of July 7th (Lunar Month), they will get together on the bridge composed of Magpies. Therefore, the Qixi Festival has become the Valentine’s Day for Chinese.
Qixi originated from Han Dynasty. It came from people’s worship on stars. On QiXi, a festoon is placed in the yard and the single or newly married women in the household make an offering to Niulang and Zhinü consisting of fruit, flowers, tea, and facial powder (makeup). After finishing the offering, half of the facial powder is thrown on the roof and the other half divided among the young women of the household. It is believed that by doing this, the women are bound in beauty with Zhinü.
Another tradition is for young girls to throw a sewing needle into a bowl full of water on the night of QiXi as a test of embroidery skills. If the needle floats on top of the water instead of sinking, it proves the girl is a skilled embroideress.Single women also pray for finding a good husband in the future. And the newly married women pray to be pregnant quickly in the future.
People say that on this day it will rain, because of them crying in heavens. Others say that if you stand under grapevines on this night, you would even hear them talking.
Qixi Festival is August 23 this year, if you have no idea how to pick the right gift for your special one, you can visit here for more gift ideas.