What is Valentine's Day in China?

Tanabata, a traditional festival in China, is also called Qiaoqi Festival, Qijie Festival, Daughter's Day, Beggar's Day, Chinese Valentine's Day Festival, Niuniu Festival and Qiaoxi Festival, which is a traditional folk festival in China.

Valentine's Day in China in 2022 is on Thursday, August 4th, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is China's Valentine's Day, also known as Begging for Cleverness Festival, Seven Clever Days or Seven Sisters's birthday. Qixi, which began in the Han Dynasty, is a traditional cultural festival popular in China and other countries in the cultural circle of Chinese characters. According to legend, on the night of the seventh or sixth day of the seventh lunar month, women begged the Weaver girl for cleverness in the courtyard, so they called it "begging for cleverness".

Many customs of women in China on Valentine's Day, such as "Nvhong", "Blessing for Seven Sisters", "gūng" and so on, have influenced Japanese, Korean Peninsula, Vietnamese and other countries in the Chinese character cultural circle.

Valentine's Day in China began in ancient times, spread in the Western Han Dynasty and flourished in the Song Dynasty. In ancient times, Valentine's Day in China was an exclusive festival for beautiful girls. Among the numerous folk customs of Qixi, some have gradually disappeared, but quite a few have been continued by people.

Valentine's Day in China originated in China, and it is also celebrated in some Asian GJ countries influenced by China culture, such as Japan, Korean Peninsula and Viet Nam. On May 20th, 2006, China Valentine's Day was listed in the first GJ intangible cultural heritage list by People's Republic of China (PRC) and the State Council.

The custom of Valentine's Day in China

1, the legend of Qiu Ya.

In addition, myths and legends say that the weaver girl in the sky yearns for the world and marries the cowherd privately. The angry queen mother drew a Tianhe with her hairpins to separate them. Magpies meet on the bridge on July 7th every year. So there is a legend in Laiyang that magpies (called "Qiu Ya" in Jiaodong dialect) are generally not seen on July 7th, because they all gather in Tianhe to build a colorful bridge.

2. Legend of "Crying Sister"

It is also said that on this day, lovers can date under the grape trellis at night, and they can grow old together. At night, they can hear the whispers of the cowherd and the weaver girl. This day and a few days ago, if it rains continuously, it is called "Sister Crying", which is the day I hope to meet her. Because the Tianhe River is separated, the Weaver Girl misses the Cowherd and Lacrimosa, so the rain in the sky comes one after another, which is called "Crying Sister".