Chinese Valentine's Day traditionally falls on February, but few know it

A couple dressed in traditional red costumes sit quietly in the middle of a stage for their Ming-style wedding ceremony. Behind them stand two girls, carefully cutting off small tufts of the bride's and groom's hair. The girls then place the locks together into a small embroidered bag. To celebrate Lantern Festival this year, a traditional Chinese wedding performance was held at Shanghai Mass Art Center (SMAC). Hundreds of visitors watched the wedding, which incorporated customs and traditions popular among the Han people during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

A Ming-style wedding ceremony is held in Shanghai Mass Art Center on Lantern Festival, which is regarded as Chinese Valentine's Day.

Lantern Festival is also known as Chinese Valentine's Day. In ancient China, people liked to carry colorful self-made lanterns and visit local temples, enjoying various kinds of lanterns together with families and friends.

"Even unmarried young women, who usually stayed at home, were allowed to go out on that special day," said the wedding performance organizer Wu Juanya.

Because of the inclusion of single young females during Lantern Festival, it inadvertently became an opportunity to meet and date people of the opposite sex. Over time, girls started "dolling up" in beautiful dresses and jewelry to attract suitors.

Nonetheless, today most people think of Qixi Festival (July 7 according to the lunar calendar) rather than Lantern Festival as Chinese Valentine's Day.

"Actually, Qixi was a day for females to pray to the gods for intelligence and better needlework skills," Wu explained, "not meet men."

In order to make this year's Lantern Festival feel more romantic, Wu together with SMAC decided to host an ancient-style wedding performance.

Utilizing delicate wedding costumes and elaborate customs such as jie fa (when the bride and groom cut off a small tuft of their hair to declare everlasting love), the event was quite an unusual sight for younger and urban people in the audience.

In ancient China, people wore masks during Chinese New Year to scare away ghosts and evil spirits, but now people wear them for fun.

Awareness among younger generations

Apart from the wedding, SMAC also hosted a handicrafts fair with dozens of stalls selling homemade incense, ornaments and masks. In front of one mask stall, a little boy excitedly tried on a qilin (a mythical Chinese animal that is much like unicorn) mask with the help of his mother.

The stall's owner, Gu Jun, was selling his self-painted masks for 20 yuan ($2.9) each. "In ancient China, people wore masks on New Year's Eve to scare away ghosts and evil spirits," Gu said, adding that he hopes such types of traditional masks will help introduce Chinese traditional culture and its customs to the younger generations.

A person practices Chinese calligraphy with a writing brush.

Nearby, foreigner Rachel Punter was selecting embroidery handbags and bookmarks as souvenirs and gifts. Punter, who has been in Shanghai for only 18 months, heard about SMAC's event from her Chinese teacher.

"But I've never experienced this before," the chemistry teacher said. "It's a pity that I arrived too late today to see the Chinese wedding performance, but I won't miss other performances."

Cross-talk stage comedies and Kunqu and Yueju operas, along with interactive activities like calligraphy and a tea ceremony, were also being held at the event, with hundreds of visitors, locals and expats alike, taking part.