Valentine’s Day, Chinese Lantern Festival, and Qixi

Angie Lin | February 12, 2022

What is the first thing that comes to mind when Valentine’s Day is mentioned? Chocolates, flowers, romantic dinners, gifts and the list go on. But most prominently would be the date of February 14th. As a curious soul, I have wondered about the origins of many things. So on a particular Thursday, a question suddenly came to mind. (Yes, quite spontaneously.) Why does Valentine’s Day fall on February 14th? In search of the answer, I googled it. (Obviously) Apparently, according to Bustle.com, Valentine’s Day originated from a Roman celebration called the feast of Lupercalia. To put it consciously, Pope Gelasius deemed Lupercalia to be February 14th and made it known as Valentine’s Day in honor of martyrs with the name Valentine. As to why Valentine’s Day is associated with love, there are several theories. (If you want to know more, check out the article by Bustle)

After getting to know the origin of Valentine’s Day and February 14th, it occurred to me that Valentine’s Day is only on February 14th in specific countries. Many other countries have similar holidays that serve as their Valentine’s Day(on different dates with different names.) For Chinese people, there are two days that symbolizes love and romance. 七夕 (cat1-zik6) is probably the most prominent one. It is built around the love story of a fairy and a cowherd. But in this blog, I want to mention another Chinese holiday associated with love. It is called 元宵節(jyun4-siu1 zit3), or Lantern Festival. It falls on the 15th of the first lunar month. 元宵 is to honor the first full moon of the year which will always occur on the 15th of the first month. 

On this day, the most well-known traditions are to eat dumplings and go to a lantern festival. This specific kind of dumplings are also called 湯圓 (tong1-jyun2) and they symbolize reunion and harmony because the pronunciation is similar to the Chinese phrase 團圓 (tyun4-jyun4). After eating 湯圓, people will head to the Lantern festival. The lantern festival is a truly spectacular sight with thousands of lanterns being released into the dark night. This creates a romantic atmosphere that usually results in the start of countless romances. If you think about it, the beautiful lights and laughter really make for the perfect setting for a sweet confession. Due to the endless amounts of love stories that start on 元宵節, the holiday eventually became associated with love. 

Valentine’s Day is here and 元宵節, or Lantern Festival, is not far behind. (It is literally the day after Valentine’s Day this year, Feb. 15th.) Be sure to have your gifts ready if you have a significant other. Don’t worry if you’re single,  definitely pamper yourself with some delicious chocolates and a relaxing movie night. We wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Vocabulary List

1. 七夕

Cantonese: (cat1-zik6)

Mandarin: qī-xī

Taishanese: tid2-ded3

2. 元宵節

Cantonese: (jyun4-siu1 -zit3)

Mandarin: yuán-xiāo jié

Taishanese: ngun4-lhieu1 ded2

3. 湯圓 

Cantonese: (tong1-jyun2)

Mandarin: tōng-yuán

Taishanese: hong1-yon52

If you are hung up on gift ideas, check out our gift shop. There are adorable tote bags that will strike the hearts of many. If the receiver is looking to learn a new language, send them a gift card from Inspirlang to motivate them to get started! It is always a great gift for yourself too! Click on the images below to check them out.