Qixi Festival 2022 (Double Seventh Day)
Qixi Festival, which is originally known as Qiqiao Festival, originated from the Han Dynasty.It is celebrated every 7th day of the 7th month according to the Chinese lunar calendar. The festival is known as Chinese Valentine's Day. It is the most romantic festival among traditional Chinese festivals.The date on the Gregorian calendar changes every year.In 2022, the date of the Qixi Festival will be 4 August.
How Is the Qixi Festival Celebrated Nowadays
As time passed, more and more young Chinese people begin to celebrate this day as Chinese Valentine’s Day because of the romantic folklore. There are also a lot of customs prepared during Qixi.1. Praying to the Weaver Fairy for Skillful Hands
On Qixi Day, the day when Niulang and Zhinü (the Weaver Fairy) reunite once a year, women in ancient times would prepare a table of offerings, including tea, wine, fruits, red dates, and peanuts to pray for skillful hands.Single women also pray for finding a good husband in the future. And the newly married women pray to have a happy marriage.
2. Showing Good Embroidery Skills
On the evening of Qixi Day, there are a lot of activities. The most popular one was that girls threw 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 embroiderer.Girls would also display their needlework, and carve flowers and animals on melon skin to show their skills and celebrate the festival. Later at night, they would also compete with each other on threading a needle.
3. Eating Qiaoguo (Qixi Pastry)
A popular snack that is cooked and eaten at the Qixi Festival is Qiaoguo, a fried delicate pastry of different shapes. It was made from flour, sesame, and sugar.Nowadays, Qiaoguo is still popular in some areas in eastern China including Shandong, Shaoxing, and Shanghai.
4. Dyeing Fingernails
Dyeing nails is a custom of the Qixi Festival in southwest China in ancient times. Girls pick balsam blooms then crush them up and combine them with alum. Then they would spread the paste onto each nail and then wrap the nails with leaves until they dry.
For the origin of the Qixi Festival story, you can refer to the video link:
https://youtu.be/WCbztd58LLE
Dingfei is everyone's best companion, we will accompany everyone to celebrate the Qixi Festival : )