Qixi was a big thing in Singapore from the ‘30s to ‘50s. But – like psychedelic prints and Beatle haircuts – its popularity had waned by the ‘70s. So we wouldn’t be surprised if this is the first time you’ve heard the word “Qixi”.

Intent on bringing this classic back, local heritage consultant Lynn Wong spearheaded Qixi’s revival in Singapore in 2023.

Thanks to her efforts, Qixi Festival 2023 was held in Chinatown for the first time in over 50 years. Now in 2024, the festival continues to gain momentum – celebrating its cultural roots while commemorating the mythical tale behind its origins.

The legend of Qixi is a classic tale of forbidden love

The Qixi Festival, celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month in the Chinese lunar calendar, is known by various names, including Double Seventh Festival, Qiqiao Festival, and Chinese Valentine’s Day. 

The last name is refers to the annual meeting of mythical lovers Zhinu and Niulang. Their tale is sort of an Asian version of Romeo and Juliet, a ‘forbidden love’ narrative about star-crossed lovers forced apart by fate and circumstance. But thankfully, it has a happier ending than its Shakespearean counterpart.

There are several variations of this fairytale. The one we’re sharing here (with a few… embellishments of our own) is from The China Project.

Niulang was an ordinary cowherd, while Zhinu was a celestial goddess with mad weaving skills.

One day, Zhinu and her sisters secretly snuck out of heaven (past their curfew, we might add) to explore the mortal realm and par-tayyy. They were bathing together in a lake when she first encountered Niulang.

It was love at first sight, and Zhinu immediately decided to give up her life in the celestial palace to stay on Earth, marry Niulang (who – even at the wedding – still couldn’t believe he managed to snag a girl who’s so far out of his league) and eventually bear their children.

Unfortunately, their union would be cut short because, by the laws of heaven, a mortal man is not permitted to marry a goddess. When the Supreme Goddess discovered their affair, Zhinu was forced to return to heaven and resume her weaving duties.

Not too long afterwards, the divine ox under Niulang’s care spoke to him. The ox instructed Niulang to slaughter it (a supreme sacrifice, because it recognises what’s at… *ahem* ‘steak’) and wear its hide. This would him to ascend to heaven and see Zhinu again. Niulang did as he was told and, clad in the ox’s hide, flew excitedly to reunite with his beloved.

Unfortunately, the Supreme Goddess was not mooved and still would not allow them to meet. Summoning her powers, she formed a celestial river of stars to block Niulang’s ardent approach.

Touched by the genuine and pure love between the pair, a flock of magpies arranged themselves to form a bridge over the starry river to connect them. Based on precisely zero minutes of research, we hypothesise that this was where the term ‘wingman’ originated.

Touched by this sight, the Supreme Goddess finally relented and gave permission to Niulang and their children to cross the magpie bridge to visit Zhinu once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. Their annual date night would eventually become the Qixi Festival.

Our street party

On 10 August, this year’s Qixi Festival kicked off with a bussin’ street party proudly hosted at Keong Saik Road in Our Tanjong Pagar. This was made especially meaningful as it was attended by people from all across our social spectrum.