Qixi Festival
19 August 2026 · movable holiday — The magpies have built the bridge – tonight the stars meet!
Qixi is a traditional Chinese festival held on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, often called the Chinese Valentine's Day. It grows out of the old legend of the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd. She weaves clouds in the heavens, while he is a humble herdsman. They love each other but are separated by a heavenly river, the Milky Way. Once a year a flock of magpies forms a bridge so that they can meet. In the sky the Weaver Girl is linked with the star Vega (in the constellation Lyra) and the Cowherd with Altair (in the constellation Aquila). The festival follows the lunar calendar, so its date shifts against the solar one and usually falls in August. By tradition, girls pray for skill in needlework, and couples use the day to be together. In the evening people look up to find the two stars. In 2026 the festival falls on 19 August.
Flying across the sky: An ethereal, bluish-silver flock of magpies made of luminous dots and thin connecting lines, like a constellation gliding across the sky
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