What date is Qixi Festival? It falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, and its Gregorian date differs every year.

Qixi Festival is a traditional Chinese festival, and its date is fixed on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, which is why it is also called Double Seven or Repeated Seven. Because the lunar and Gregorian calendars reckon years differently, and because a leap month may also occur, its corresponding date on the Gregorian calendar changes every year, falling roughly between late July and August, and the exact date must be calculated according to that year's lunar calendar.

The origin of Qixi is closely tied to the ancients' observation of the stars. The celestial sight of Altair and Vega facing each other across the Milky Way gave rise to the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. Folk tradition holds that the two meet once a year on the night of Qixi across a bridge formed by magpies, and this story, passed down for a thousand years, has gradually made Qixi a festival symbolizing love and reunion.

Among traditional customs, Qixi is also known as the Festival for Seeking Skills. In the old days, women would thread needles and arrange melons and fruit on this day, praying to the Weaver Girl for deft hands and skill. In various places there were also activities such as worshipping the Weaver Girl, airing books and clothes, and making qiaoguo, and in some regions the festival customs echoed the farming work and harvest season at the turn of summer and autumn.

Today Qixi is widely regarded as China's own Valentine's Day, and many people express their feelings and exchange gifts on this day. At the same time, Qixi Festival has been included in the national intangible cultural heritage list, and the astronomical knowledge, women's crafts, and festival folk customs it carries still hold rich cultural value today.