Qixi Festival Food

As with many cultural events, food is very important in the celebration of Qixi Festival. Qixi Festival celebrates Chinese Valentine's Day or the seventh day of the seventh lunar month when the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid would meet on the Magpie Bridge. Qixi Festival food includes many different and delicious culinary delights including dumplings, noodles, and wontons. While the food on offer differs from region to region, there are some foods you will find in almost all celebrations...

Qiaoguo (Fried Thin Pastry)

Qiaoguo, also known as qiqiao guozi (fruit) or qiaobing (cake), is made using three main ingredients; oil, flour and sugar. The fragrant and sweet pastry dough is then moulded into different shapes and decorated with elegant patterns and decorative figures. Sometimes the pastries are strung together on a red chord and hung around children’s necks as snack food or simply as decorations.

Dumplings

In some regions, seven friends would gather to make dumplings. They would put a copper coin and a red date into two separate dumplings. It was said that whoever ate the dumpling with the copper would become very wealthy and whoever are the dumpling with the date would be married soon.

Fruit

Fruit is one of the most commonly used foods during Qixi Festival. In some Qixi Festival traditions, women would carve fruit into the shapes of flowers, animals and birds.

Honey Pears

Asian pears are used to create this dish. The pears are filled with Chinese dates (known as Jujubes) and honey and lightly steamed. Along with eating delicious food, another Qixi Festival tradition is to send gifts of flowers and chocolates to your special someone – who will you be treating?

Read next: Find out more about Qixi Festival Legends, get ready to celebrate with these Qixi Festival Traditions, or learn quickly with Qixi Festival Facts.

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