You may be used to celebrating Valentines Day on the 14th of February but did you know that in China, the tradition is a little different? The Chinese equivalent of Valentines Day is called Qixi Festival and is celebrated every year on the 7th July in the Chinese calendar.
What is Qixi Festival?
The legend behind Qixi Festival dates back to around 206-220 AD. The tale tells of a love story between a cowherd and the granddaughter of a powerful goddess. The pair fell in love, got married in secret and had two children. When the King found out that the young goddess had married a mortal he sent his soldiers to bring her back to heaven. They could only meet once a year on a bridge formed by magpies, who took pity on the separated couple. The couple spent the rest of time separated by a river that is now known as the milky way.
While its roots may be very different, modern day Qixi festivities don’t differ much from Western celebrations. Couples recognise the day by exchanging gifts, flowers and chocolate and celebrate by going out on romantic dates.
Sharing the love…
In celebration of this year’s Qixi Festival, Boardmans China have been getting involved and sharing the love in their community. As temperatures reach up to 40 degrees in Hangzhou, China, we decided to hand out sun hats to anyone in need of a little shade. We created a love heart filled with caps, straw hats and fedoras which were offered to anyone working outside in the height of the afternoon sun. The hats were well received by those in need and security guards, janitors and construction workers alike were delighted to get some much needed relief from the heat.
Check out the video and help us share the love on social media!
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