Leap Month Delays 2025’s Qixi (Chinese Valentine’s Day) to August 29 — the latest date of the 21st century, igniting a viral Weibo frenzy.
The buzz on China’s biggest micro‑blogging platform, Weibo, has turned a routine calendar quirk into a viral talking point: this year’s Qixi Festival lands on August 29, making it the latest occurrence of the holiday in the entire 21st century.

28 August 2025
Qixi – the seventh day of the seventh lunar month – is often billed abroad as “Chinese Valentine’s Day,” but its roots run deeper, tracing back to the ancient celebration of “乞巧” (qǐqiǎo), a night when young women prayed for dexterity in needlework and, later, for love. Because the festival’s date is fixed to the lunisolar calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar, its placement on the Western calendar can drift by weeks from year to year.
The reason for this year’s late arrival lies in a leap month. In the Chinese lunisolar system, an extra month is inserted roughly every three years to keep the lunar cycles aligned with the solar year and the agricultural seasons. The current cycle includes a “闰六月” – an intercalary sixth month – which stretches the lunar year to 384 days, a full 19 days longer than the Gregorian year 2025. That additional month pushes all subsequent lunar festivals forward, and Qixi, which normally falls somewhere between late July and late August, slips to the end of August.

Lai Dihui, a member of the Chinese Astronomical Society and director of the Tianjin Astronomical Society, explained the mechanics in a series of posts that quickly went viral. “While the seventh day of the seventh month never changes in the lunar calendar, the Gregorian date can vary dramatically,” he wrote. “The presence of a leap month this year shifts Qixi to August 29, the latest it has been since the calendar was reformed in the early 20th century, and it will match again only in 2055.”
For context, the earliest Qixi of the current century fell on July 31, 2006, while the latest will again be August 29 in 2055. In the 20th century the record‑late date was August 30, 1987. Such anomalies are of interest to astronomers and calendar enthusiasts, but they also capture the imagination of the broader public.
Weibo users have responded with a mix of information sharing and celebration. Many reposted Lai’s explanations, while others discussed how to mark the night. A hotel in Shanghai even posted a promotional “durian buffet” for the occasion, underscoring how commercial enterprises quickly latch onto the buzz. Gifts, romantic dinner reservations, and specially curated e‑commerce sales have already been scheduled, echoing the pattern of previous years when retailers treat Qixi as a major sales driver.
Industry analysts say the exact Gregorian date matters little to the overall commercial power of the festival. According to iiMedia Research, consumer willingness to express affection, purchase gifts, and even register marriages spikes around Qixi regardless of whether it falls in late July or late August. Marketing teams simply adjust timelines a few weeks in advance, and the extended summer window may even lengthen the period for promotional activity without altering fundamental buying behavior.
Socially, the shift does not diminish Qixi’s cultural resonance. Couples continue to exchange flower bouquets, hand‑made sweets, and handwritten wishes; families still gather for traditional meals. The conversation on whether Qixi should be labeled “China’s Valentine’s Day” or retain its historic “乞巧” identity persists, but those debates are largely independent of the calendar nuance.
Politically, the date change remains a footnote. Government bodies may issue cultural heritage reminders or support public events, but there is no policy impact tied to the specific day. The festival continues to serve as a showcase of China’s intangible cultural heritage, a point of soft power, and a modest stimulus for the service sector, rather than a matter of legislative concern.
In short, the August 29, 2025, Qixi is a striking illustration of how the Chinese lunisolar calendar’s leap‑month system can produce a calendar oddity that captures national attention. While astronomers like Lai Dihui unpack the technical reasons, the public’s reaction is unmistakably human: a blend of curiosity, nostalgia, and the timeless desire to celebrate love – whether under a summer sky in late August or an early‑July sunset. The festival’s commercial and cultural vigor endures, proving that even the latest Qixi of the century does not lose its sparkle.
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