Chinese Valentine’s Day Is Here!

Today marks a holiday most Westerners don’t know much about: Chinese Valentine’s Day, known in Chinese as 七夕节 (qīxìjié). Celebrating the day each year two mythological lovers are reunited, 七夕节 is a chance for everyone in China to take a romantic break from the summer heat. It’s one of the most popular days for weddings every year, and is often celebrated with elaborate flower displays, trips to the cinema for romantic films and even bouquets of teddy bears. While China has other love-centered holidays, including the somewhat peculiar 网络情人节 (literally “Internet Valentine’s Day”), Qixi is the most popular and traditional day to celebrate love and romance in all their forms.

Qixi is also something of a boon for marketers, and has, in recent years, become one of the biggest shopping and gift-giving days on the calendar. For some Chinese entrepreneurs, in fact, it’s the most important of China’s many holidays. Rose Only, for instance, is a luxury flower shop that takes orders online, and has quickly become a well-known brand in China, claiming to be the most expensive rose retailer on the planet. Qixi is their busiest day of the year, but not everyone is pleased with the increasing commercialization of the holiday. Many in China fear the holiday is losing its traditional roots and becoming more Westernized, and there is some evidence to bear that out: retailers and marketers tend to approach Qixi much as they would Western Valentine’s Day (which has also caught on in China), with imagery like hearts and Cupid arrows as well as messages urging customers to prove their love on Qixi.

Despite the grumblings over commercialization, Qixi is still a much-anticipated holiday throughout China, and WILDDESIGN wishes everyone a joyous, romantic and inspiring Qixi!