Taboos

Taboos for Chinese Valentine’s Day(Qixi):

  1. People are not suggested to marry on the day of Qixi. Through the myth of Qixi, Niulang and Zhinv do meet on this day, so it is supposed to be a good day because it means ‘reunion’, however, after this, a very short day, Niulang and Zhinv are seperated again. In other words, some people may consider ‘seperate’ as bad things like ‘divorce’ or ‘break up’. So it is not a really good day for marriage.
  2. People cannot do anything bad on this day. Although Niulang and Zhinv can only meet for one day on this date, ‘Qixi’ itself means a great happiness day. So if people do any bad things, the day is ruined.
  3. People cannot eat any animals that are related to birds. As we known from the story, Niulang and Zhinv meet in the sky on the bridge which is formed of magpie. Magpie is a kind of bird, and it means ‘happiness’ to people. So anything related to birds should not be eaten.
  4. Couple cannot hold the other’s hand if they are walking around the river.
  5. The most important one. Couples cannot have any sexual behavior on the day of Qixi. Because in ancient Chinese people’s thinking, it is a really pure and unsophisticated day. In Fengshui, if one cannot control the lust, his/her life span would be decreased.