The Qixi Festival

The Qixi Festival, is often called Chinese Valentine's Day, falls on August 19, 2026. It is based on one of four legendary folk tales with a history that goes back over 2,000 years to the Han Dynasty.

It tells the story of Niulang (the Cowherd Boy), who was a kind-hearted but poor orphan, and Zhinü (the Weaver Girl), who was the daughter of the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother of the West. They fell in love, but their love angered Zhinü’s mother, who separated them by creating a celestial river of stars (the Milky Way) to separate the lovers forever. They are allowed to meet only once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, when a bridge, composed of magpies, forms over the Milky Way - a truly Chinese tragic romance story, which was reflected in 杜牧Du Mu’s poem, 秋夕An Autumn Evening：

银烛秋光冷画屏

轻罗小扇扑流萤

天阶夜色凉如水

坐看牵牛织女星

Silver candle

and autumn gleam

chill the painted screen

A small fan of light silk

flutters at the fireflies

Courtyard stairs

and evening lights

are as cool as water

She sits and stares

at Stars Vega and Altair

The Cowherd Boy is represented by the star Altair in the Aquila constellation. It's a bright star flanked by two smaller stars (Beta and Gamma Aquilae), which are said to be his two children. The Weaver Girl is represented by the star Vega in the Lyra constellation. It's one of the brightest stars in the summer night sky. The Milky Way is the massive, shimmering river of stars that flows between Altair and Vega. Although "An Autumn Evening" does not explicitly mention the Qixi Festival, the imagery of watching the Cowherd Boy and the Weaver Girl stars on a cool autumn night makes it a quintessential Qixi poem.

The Qixi Festival had deeper roots and was originally called the Qiqiao Festival, which celebrated a woman's domestic skills. Girls would pray to Zhinü, the Weaver Girl, for skill in needlework and cooking, which were considered vital skills for a good wife. Today, the festival has a more commercial yet still romantic feel. Couples often celebrate with romantic dates, gifts, and flowers, much like Valentine's Day on February 14th. It is also a popular day for couples to officially register their marriages.

It is true that Singles Day (November 11) was once a wildly popular date for couples to officially register their marriages. However, recent trends show that the Qixi Festival has become the clear favorite. Singles Day had a singular moment in 2011. On 11 November 2011 ("11.11.11"), thousands of couples flocked to register because of the extremely auspicious date. In Shanghai, over 4,000 couples registered, beating that year's Valentine's Day record. More than 6,000 couples registered in Beijing on that day alone.

In China, the legal marriage registration is a distinct administrative step that is often separate from the celebratory events of the tea ceremony and wedding banquet. While some couples may choose to do everything on the same day, most will choose to complete the paperwork at a government marriage bureau, which is a low-key affair, focusing on the formalities, on an auspicious day. A more elaborate wedding banquet and the deeply symbolic tea ceremony are the cultural highlights that family and friends gather to witness, and these larger celebrations usually take place later. For instance, a couple might officially register their marriage on the day of the Qixi Festival and then hold the tea ceremony and wedding banquet on a separate weekend that works better for both family and friends. Today, hosting these celebratory events is less dependent on choosing the traditionally significant dates and more dependent on the availability of wedding halls during weekends!