China's love-struck looking to Olympics for marriage luck
Monday, 7 July 2008
BEIJING, July 6 (AFP): Zhang Jie and Ma Yue plan to be among the crush of love-struck Chinese getting married at the start of the Olympics despite a series of disasters that have cast doubt over the auspicious day.
The opening of the Beijing Games falls on the eighth day of the eighth month of 2008, which is no coincidence as the number eight is traditionally considered lucky in China due to it sounding like the word for wealth.
"Eight is a number that brings good luck in China, and that's why the Chinese often choose the eighth to get married," said Zhang, 24, at a registry office in southwest Beijing as the couple booked their place to tie the knot.
But a succession of disasters in China-extreme bad weather in the south during Chinese New Year, violence in Tibet, and the earthquake in Sichuan-has made some Chinese doubt the benefits of 2008.
Some Chinese netizens have even gone as far as to say the mascots of the Olympic Games are cursed.
Jingjing the panda, for them, represents the devastating 8.0-magnitude earthquake two months ago in Sichuan province, where the majority of the endangered animals live.
Yingying the Tibetan antelope evokes this year's deadly unrest in Tibet, while Huanhuan is a flame that for many brings back memories of the protests that embarrassed China during the Olympic torch's international journey.
The opening of the Beijing Games falls on the eighth day of the eighth month of 2008, which is no coincidence as the number eight is traditionally considered lucky in China due to it sounding like the word for wealth.
"Eight is a number that brings good luck in China, and that's why the Chinese often choose the eighth to get married," said Zhang, 24, at a registry office in southwest Beijing as the couple booked their place to tie the knot.
But a succession of disasters in China-extreme bad weather in the south during Chinese New Year, violence in Tibet, and the earthquake in Sichuan-has made some Chinese doubt the benefits of 2008.
Some Chinese netizens have even gone as far as to say the mascots of the Olympic Games are cursed.
Jingjing the panda, for them, represents the devastating 8.0-magnitude earthquake two months ago in Sichuan province, where the majority of the endangered animals live.
Yingying the Tibetan antelope evokes this year's deadly unrest in Tibet, while Huanhuan is a flame that for many brings back memories of the protests that embarrassed China during the Olympic torch's international journey.