Singles Day
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| Singles Day | |
|---|---|
| Observed by | Chinese |
| Type | International |
| Significance | Day for singles to celebrate and socialize |
| Date | November 11 |
| Celebrations | eat youtiao, festivals, clubs/bar |
| Related to | Qi Xi |
Singles Day, One's Day or Guang Gun Jie (Chinese: 光棍节; pinyin: guāng gùn jié; Wade–Giles: kuang kun chieh; literally "bare sticks holiday") is a Chinese pop culture holiday on November 11 for people who are still living the single life.
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[edit] Origins
[edit] University culture
Singles' Day was initially celebrated at various universities in Nanjing during the 1990s, and originated from Nanjing University in 1993. It got the name Singles Day because the date consists of four "ones". These college students have since graduated, and carried the university tradition into society. The Singles Day has been largely popularized in the internet era and is now a special day for all fashionable youths.
The main way to celebrate Singles' Day is to have dinner with your single friends, but it's important that each person pay their own way to show their independence. Some send short messages or e-mails to their single friends to deliver their best wishes. People also hold 'blind date' parties in an attempt to bid goodbye to their single lives. Not every single is happy on this day. They may tease themselves for being still single as a university student. Some prefer to watch movies in a theatre. Some schools of a university would put forward a special program to gather singles together for celebration. In recent years, there has been more social attention to this holiday. For example, Taobaoshangcheng gives a 50% account on this day. There are many activities on the Internet to help singles find a mate.
2011 marked the "Singles Day of the Century" (shiji guanggunjie), this date having six "ones" rather than four, an excuse to take celebrations to a higher notch[1]. Shopping promotions were highlighted throughout China and activities were widespread. Although this date comes to celebrate singlehood, the desire to find a spouse or mate is also expressed by young Chinese on this date, and other love-related issues are discussed by the Chinese media.
[edit] Celebration
For breakfast on Singles' Day, singles often eat four Youtiao (deep-fried dough sticks) representing the four "ones" in "11.11" and one Baozi (steamed stuffed bun) representing the middle dot.
Some singles also choose to say goodbye to their single lives on this day: many attend 'blind date' parties and many people choose to marry on this day. In 2011, higher amounts of marriages occurred in Hong Kong and Beijing on November 11 than the average daily amount.[2] In addition to meaning 'single,' the four 'ones' of the date can also mean 'only one' as in 'the only one for me.' Some people will use this date and this meaning to tell their special someone that they are the only 'one' in their heart.
In episode 6 of The Apprentice (UK Series Four), team Alpha decided to make a range of themed greeting cards revolving around National Singles' Day[3], which met mixed success from buyers Clinton Cards, Celebrations and Tesco. Initially, the team planned to have it on February 13th, the day before Valentine's Day. However, Clinton Cards and Tesco questioned their decision as to why celebrate it before Valentine's Day considering it's one of the card's major seasons like Christmas and have the day competed with Valentine's Day. Tesco also pointed out who would send cards to single people.
[edit] References
- ^ A holiday invasion – Why are Chinese enthusiastically adopting new festive events? Thinking Chinese, November 2011
- ^ Wall Street Journal (2011). Chinese Couples Rush to the Altar on 11/11/11. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
- ^ Episode 6 Synopsis at BBC Apprentice Microsite
