Qixi Festival – Google celebrates Chinese traditional festival on Aug 25 this year

Google today celebrates Qixi Festival in 2020 by releasing a beautiful romantic doodle. Also known as the Qiqiao Festival, Qixi Festival is a Chinese festival celebrating the annual meeting of the cowherd and weaver girl in mythology.

Qixi Festival, aka Qixi Valentine’s Day, is a celebration of love observed in Taiwan each year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

Qiwi Festival originated from the romantic legend of two lovers, Zhinü and Niulang, who were the weaver girl and the cowherd, respectively. The tale of The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl has been celebrated in the Qixi Festival since the Han dynasty. The earliest-known reference to this famous myth dates back to over 2600 years ago, which was told in a poem from the Classic of Poetry. The Qixi festival inspired the Tanabata festival in Japan, Chilseok festival in Korea, and Thất Tịch festival in Vietnam.

The holiday traces its roots to an ancient Chinese story of forbidden romance. The love between Zhinü and Niulang was not allowed, thus they were banished to opposite sides of the Silver River (symbolizing the Milky Way). Once a year, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, a flock of magpies would form a bridge to reunite the lovers for one day.

During the Han dynasty, the practices were conducted to celebrate Qiwi Festival in 2020 in accordance with formal ceremonial state rituals. Over time, the festival activities also included customs that the common people partook.

Girls take part in worshipping the celestials during rituals to celebrate Qiwi Festival in 2020. They go to the local temple to pray to Zhinü for wisdom. Paper items are usually burned as offerings. The festival also held an importance for newlywed couples. Girls may recite traditional prayers for dexterity in needlework, which symbolizes the traditional talents of a good spouse.

On the eve of Qiwi Festival, the Chinese gaze to the sky to look for Vega and Altair shining in the Milky Way, while a third star forms a symbolic bridge between the two stars. It was said that if it rains on this day that it was caused by a river sweeping away the magpie bridge or that the rain is the tears of the separated couple. Based on the legend of a flock of magpies forming a bridge to reunite the couple, a pair of magpies came to symbolize conjugal happiness and faithfulness.

In honour of the pair’s annual reunion, people across Taiwan take this day to celebrate the ones they love.

Happy Qixi Festival!

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