七夕快乐! Qī xī jié kuài lè! Happy Chinese Valentine’s!

Today is the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, and that’s a special day in China! It’s the Chinese’s Valentine’s Day! 七夕 (qī xī) is a day that’s been celebrated possibly since the Han Dynasty.

QiXi is also the double seven festival.

Also called the Double Seven festival (ah, that love for double numbers), 七夕 is a day reserved for love in the Middle Kingdom, making it the most romantic festival in China. First, celebrations and gifts are exchanged. Then, that day remains to be a day of love and friendships. So the perfect way to spend the 7th day of the 7th month — especially for couples in love is to spend time together are enjoy gifts.

What is the origin of the Qixi festival?

The origin of the Qixi Festival is a touching love story between Zhinü (织女), the weaver girl, a fairy from heaven, and Niulang (牛郎), the cowherd from Earth. As you can imagine, they fell in love but were not allowed to love each other freely. They couldn’t live without each other. Therefore, they decided to stay separated, though each was waiting for the other to be reborn and have a second chance at love. However, they loved each other so much that they were unwilling to let go. So they decided to live a happy ever after in the same place.

Qi Xi, the myth the legends

The legend said that the Goddess Mother Earth was extremely angry at them as they were not getting married. In preparation for their reunion, a two-day festival was to be held. The goddess Mother Earth explicitly forbade the first day for the two lovers to attend. The second was the actual wedding. The problem was that once they tried to get married, they would be together forever, but only if they were together during the festival’s first day. Their separation was obliviated from their minds, but the Goddess Mother Earth ensured that the festival’s first day would be painful if they were to attend. The goddess placed heavy curses on them to ensure they did not go.

Chinese legends explain the milky way.

Wikipedia says this about Qixi: thus, they were banished to opposite sides of the heavenly river (symbolizing the Milky Way). Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, a flock of magpies would form a bridge to reunite the lovers for a single day.

Love is a compromise.

So, as a compromise, they were allowed to meet once a year, on the 7th of the 7th lunar month… And thus, the 七夕 festival was born to commemorate their meeting (七 means 7 and 夕 dusk) and strong feelings of love.

Very cute, right? Have a wonderful Double Seven Festival!

The post Qixi festival: the Chinese Valentine’s day appeared first on Ninchanese.

端午节 is an old traditional festival held to honor the life and the death of a famous poet and minister 屈原 Qūyuán  who lived during the Warring States period of ancient China ( State of Chu, in modern Hubei, China). Because this is a must-attend event, at least once in your life, we’ve decided to first, introduce to you the 4 key activities to do during a Dragon Boat Festival and second (part 2) to show you where you can go to take part in the celebrations.

Let’s start with part 1 of our series on the Dragon Boat Festival where you’ll learn about the main activities the Chinese do during this awesome event. When you’re done, make sure you head to the Dragon Boat Festival Part 2, to discover the best places to celebrate the Dragon boat festival!

What to do during the Dragon Boat Festival

#1: Race dragon-shaped boats

The Duanwu Festival is a time to race dragon-shaped boats. According to the legend, this tradition of racing in dragon-shaped boats originated in ancient times. When the local people heard that Quyuan was going to kill himself in lake Dongting, many people rushed to rescue him by boat. After that, every year on this day, people hold dragon boat races to commemorate him. Dragon Boat Racing is the main event during the Dragon Boat Festival.

#2: Eat 粽子  (rice balls)

It’s also a happy time to eat a delicious snack: 粽子  Zòngzi, a rice ball filled with various tasty fillings, such as: peanuts, red jujubes, or even eggs and meat if you like a salty flavor. This festival is therefore also called a 粽子节  Zòngzijié too.

Have some yummy 粽子!

Yummy yummy! So why it is custom to eat 粽子 particularly on this day? It is said that after the death of the greatly admired poet Quyuan (he finally killed himself by drowning in the 汨罗江 Mǐluójiāng Miluo river), the local people were so sad that they didn’t want the dragons and fishes to eat his body. They, therefore, decided to throw the food in the river to prevent from eating his body. That’s why later on it became a tradition to eat rice balls on that day.

The poet Quyuan

#3: Hang  插艾草, wormwood

Beside the dragon-boat race, there are also other traditional customs during the festival. One is to hang 插艾草Chā ài cǎo (Artemisia vulgaris(wormwood)) on the door. Because Wormwood has a special smell, it is very effective to keep worms away. It can also freshen the air and prevent diseases. You may be familiar with this plant: it is used in Absinthe. So in ancient times, this festival was also considered to be a hygienic festival.

Hang Wormwood on your door

#4: Drink 雄黄酒, a type of Chinese wine

People also drink 雄黄酒Xiónghuángjiǔ,  realgar wine(made with Chinese herbs) during this festival. According to the legend, it’s also to protect Quyuan’s body because the villagers believed that this kind of wine could make the dragons dizzy.

After talking so much about the Dragon Boat Festival, it’s now time to taste the 粽子and to watch the dragon boat competition, don’t you think? Do you know where to go to attend the race? Of course, you’ll easily find a celebration in China, but did you know many other cities around the world celebrate this event? Maybe there’s one near your home! Head to the Dragon Boat Festival Part 2, to learn all about the best places in the world to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival!

 端午节快乐！duān wǔ jié kuài lè!

The Nincha Team

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The post The Dragon Boat Festival Part 1: 4 Activities To Do appeared first on Ninchanese.

Time to race in dragon-shaped boats, eat delicious rice balls, called 粽子 (Zòngzi) filled with various tasty fillings and discover the many other customs associated with this holiday, such as balancing eggs to bring yourself good luck for the coming year! Let us tell you all about it!

An ancient festival but a recent official holiday in China

Originally more celebrated in the South of China than in the North, 端午节 became an official Chinese holiday in 2008 (the Chinese therefore now get three days off for this holiday – which they need to make up for on the weekends prior and after the holiday). The Dragon Boat Festival falls every year on the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar, which is a different day every year. This year, the Dragon Boat Festival is today, the 12th of June.

Origins of the holiday

The Dragon Boat festival originated over 2,000 years ago and there are many theories about how it all started. While the most popular legend is that of poet 屈原 Qu Yuan (watch his story here in Chinese), there are four main stories explaining how this holiday came to start. Read about them here (bilingual version) and decide which you like best.

Dragon Boat Festival customs and activities

To learn all about the Dragon Boat Festival and its customs, watch this very dramatic video:

Hope you all enjoy celebrating the Dragon Boat festival!

Save us a 粽子!

The Nincha Team

The post Dragon Boat Festival! 端午节快乐! appeared first on Ninchanese.