On the 7th day of the 7th month of the Chinese lunar calendar, the celebration of the Seventh Evening Festival begins. In 2022, it landed on August 4 on the Gregorian calendar.
This ancient festival has been celebrated since the Han Dynasty (more than 2,000 years ago). It's the most romantic tradition of the year, celebrating love and womanhood.
In ancient times, it was a day for women to celebrate their femininity and grace. In a society where women were rarely afforded agency and many freedoms, this day was empowering for women and allowed them to share their joy in their womanhood together.
How Do You Celebrate Qi Xi Festival?
Historically, girls would participate in celestial rituals, reciting poems and prayers about daily female tasks like becoming a better spouse and having the best needlework. While these may seem trivial today, at the time, it was very progressive for women to have a day to praise their desires and role in society.
Today, similar to the Western world, gifts of flowers, chocolates, teas, and more are customary gifts to give or receive on this day.
The Tale of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl
The main story told during Qi Xi is that of the cowherd and the weaver girl. It's a romantic tale about two lovers who can only see each other once a year.
The story goes that there was a handsome cowherd (Niu Lang) who lived alone, tending to his oxen. He met and married a beautiful weaver girl (Zhi Nv) and had two children.
To Niu Lang's surprise, Zhi Nv was the seventh daughter of the Goddess of Heaven. She had only come to earth one day to see what life was like as a mortal.
That was the day these two fell in love. The Goddess of Heaven was very upset that her daughter went to earth to marry a mortal. Their love was forbidden, and the Goddess of Heaven put the Milky Way between the lovers to keep them apart.
Showing a small ounce of mercy, the Goddess of Heaven allowed the lovers to visit once a year, as she was so impressed by their unconditional love. She summoned a flock of magpies to form a bridge each year to reunite Niu Lang and Zhi Nv.
This tale has birthed a romantic holiday, similar to a Chinese Valentine's Day, celebrating love, relationships, and womanhood. To commemorate this romantic holiday, Tea Drunk created a limited-edition gift for Qi Xi in 2022.
As a team of all women, this is a holiday and ideal close to our hearts. In 2022, we donated 15% of the proceeds from this limited-edition bundle to the National Network of Abortion Funds.
The 2022 Limited-Edition Qi Xi Tea Gift
This gift set included one sample of each of the following teas:
- Bai Hao Yin Zhen — Soft like sun-soaked cotton, this white tea celebrates ancient female chores as they would have done in the Han Dynasty.
- Ya Shi Xiang — With notes of fresh lilies, this floral Dan Cong Wu Long is romantically floral and dances joyfully on your palate.
- Xiao Chi Gan — This red tea is gorgeously sweet with uplifting energy. A perfect pairing for an empowering day to celebrate womanhood.
- Ge Deng — Ge Deng Pu Er teas are known for their silky, elegant texture. This tea is an excellent example of its terroir with an elegant persona.
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