Chinese Valentine's Day 2010

Chinese Valentine's Day; Also Known As the Qixi Festival 牛郎 織女

The Chinese Valentine's Day is always on the Seventh Day of the Seventh Month on the Chinese calendar, and not on February 14th!  Thus the Chinese Valentine's Day 2010 is on August 16th.  Qi Xi or qī xī; means "The Night of Sevens" and is also known as the Magpie festival.

• Dates for Chinese Valentine's Day
• The Legend of Chinese Valentine's Day
• I Love You - China
• True Romance Blossoms in China

• Chinese New Year in 2011 starts on February 3rd

Dates for Chinese Valentine's Day - Qixi Festival

'When is the Chinese Valentine's Day in 2010?', is sure to be a mean question in pub quizzes.  So prepared, know the date, and remember the Qixi rule: 7th day of the 7th month of the Chinese calendar.

• Year - 2010 August 16th
• Year - 2011 August 6th
• Year - 2012 August 23rd  (Chinese dates are written year 年, month 月, day 日)

The Legend of Chinese Valentine's Day

Legend has it that the seventh daughter of the Emperor of Heaven, a weaving maid, fell in love and married a cowherd. They were overindulgent in their love and neglected their farming and weaving duties, which angered the Jade Emperor. As punishment, he exiled them to opposite banks of the Silver River [Milky Way], and only allowed them to meet each other once a year on the night of the seventh day of the seventh month.

This legend has been handed down for nearly two millennia.  The Chinese people believe that the star, Vega, east of the Milky Way, is Zhi Nu, and that Altair, on the western side of the Milky Way, is Niu Lang waiting for his wife.

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is the only Chinese festival devoted to love in the lunar calendar.  Chinese Valentine's Day traditions abound and this special day is celebrated differently depending on the Chinese province.

• Some of the many traditions include Chinese girls preparing fruits, melons, and incense as offerings to Zhi Nu, the weaving maiden, praying to acquire high skills in needlecraft, as well as hoping to find satisfactory husbands.
• Girls place sewing needles on water. If the needle doesn't sink, it's a sign of the girl's maturity and intelligence and she is ready and eligible to find a husband.
• People in some Chinese provinces believe that decorating the horns of oxen with flowers will save them from catastrophe. Another tradition is for women to wash their hair to make it look fresh and shining.
• This festival is also known as Qixi, or sometime the Magpie festival.

Chinese Symbol for Love Conquers All

On Chinese Valentine's Day, young lovers go to the temple of the Matchmaker and pray for their love and happiness, and their possible marriage in China. In the evening, people sit outside to observe the stars. On this night, Vega and Altair are closer together than at any other time of year. Chinese grannies say that if you stand under a grapevine, you can probably overhear what Zhi Nu and Niu Lang are saying to one another.

Chinese Symbol for Forever in my Heart

I Love You - China

A Chinese city has created a pedestrian crossing with a romantic theme to help put couples in the mood for love.

Traffic officials in Chengdu came up with the idea for the crossing which features two hearts and the message in English: "I love you", reports the Tianfu Morning Post.

True Romance Blossoms in China

Couples Pledge their Love in a Funny Way

Three couples got married on a river in China while balancing on bamboo poles Will and Guy have established. The brides [see photo] all wore traditional wedding dresses while the grooms wore suits for the grand occasion on the Xiangjiang River in Zunyi city, Guizhou province.

All three couples belong to the local single bamboo rafting club, and chose to get married on the water to show their skill at the sport. We have heard the sport involves racing on the river while balancing on a locally produced bamboo pole around 20cm in diameter.  Their aim is to popularise their sport.  What a delightful story of true romance.

Chinese Valentine Wedding

A bridegroom carries his bride on a bicycle on a street in Liuzhou, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The newly married couple held a bicycle wedding accompanied by more than 30 cyclist friends.

Chocolate Wonderland Theme Park in Beijing, China

Will and Guy have recently learned that the Great Wall of China has never looked so tasty: a team of Chinese confectioners have built a 10 metre [33 ft] long replica of the structure entirely out of chocolate in a bid to entice people to eat more of the sweet stuff on Chinese Valentine's Day.

The chocolate theme park will exhibit creations such as the Great Wall, the Dunhuang Caves and Terracotta Warriors when it opens to the public on the 29th January, 2010 we can report.

A worker adjusts Terracotta Warriors made of chocolate at the Chocolate Wonderland held in Beijing, China on 14th January, 2010

Up to 80 tonnes of chocolate were used in making the displays, which include a mini-army of 560 chocolate replicas of the famous Terracotta Warriors standing to attention on a layer of chocolate flakes.  The chocolate wall is made from solid dark chocolate bricks stuck together with white chocolate.  Chocolatier Wang Qilu, informed us that his version of the ancient wall was a feat of engineering in itself, with a carefully constructed crumbling section at one end to resemble the real thing.  He also had to make sure his materials did not melt.

Chinese Romeo Dives In At the Deep End

A Story of Love: Will You Marry Me?

A Chinese man took his girlfriend to visit an aquarium and then shocked her with a surprise proposal from inside the tank.  This romantic act took place at the Fuzhou Zuohai Aquarium, in Fuzhou, Fujian province.

Will and Guy have discovered that Wang Jian, 28, had been taking diving lessons in secret from girlfriend Xie Wenzhen, 24, for two months before his proposal.

'Jian left me in front of the giant water tank saying he was going to get some drinks,' said Miss Xie.  'Suddenly a boy holding a bunch of flowers appeared in the water, and two other divers behind him opened a scroll, reading, 'Please marry me.'

'I was totally stunned, as I realised that the man in the tank was my boyfriend. I never expected I would be taking such a leading role in the proposal. I'm so happy.'

Our photo shows Miss Xie putting her hands to Mr Wang's against the glass; she then kissed him through the aquarium glass to signal her acceptance.

Will You Be My Valentine?

Don't Make a Fuss About Valentine's Day

Background

My dearest wife is always going on and on and ON about NOT making a fuss over her on Valentine's Day.  She repeats that it's the thought that counts.

Well, I put a lot of thought into the gifts from previous Valentine's day but she didn't quite take to any of them like I assumed she would.  Here's my list - see what you think:

• Brand new mop and bucket.
  I was thinking it would be fun to see what colour the floor was because I couldn't remember.
• Romantic dinner at fast food restaurant.
  I was thinking that she might like to go inside for a change instead of fetching dinner at the drive through.
• Chocolates left-over from last year's candy box.
  I was thinking of how proud she'd be of me for not wasting food. She's been nagging me for years to recycle.
• Midnight moped ride through the park.
  I was thinking that I'm getting too old to be peddling on the bike.
• Dozen roses printed on high quality photo paper. One of my favourites this -
  I was thinking these would last a lifetime instead of just a week.
• 45 second back massage.
  I was thinking any longer and she might think I was interested in something else.
• Windows 7
  I was thinking how proud she would be to be a part of the technology crowd.

Footnote
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