Today is Singles' Day Celebration: 11/11, 5 facts about this amazing day!

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Today is Singles' Day Celebration: 11/11, 5 facts about this amazing day!

Tuesday by Unknown

The Chinese flag

Wow, it is 11/11 and it’s Singles' Day celebration which started in China. I once wrote two long articles on why it pays to remain single (read up: 10 Beautiful Reasons why you should remain Single). Recently, I received an email from one of my readers who asked me if I’m still single. Though I didn’t reply the email and I’m sure some of the readers of this site really want to know if the author of this site is single or not. Be assured that my interest on stories concerning singlehood does not have anything to do with my relationship status. If the pressure for me to declare my status becomes too much, maybe I will consider making it public. But on till then, today is Singles’ Day in China and I want to tell you people 5 important things about the Singles' Day celebration in China.

1. It started out as a joke on a college campus

You've heard of anti-Valentines Day parties. In the 1990s single Chinese college students at Nanjing University took their V-day protest even further when they came up with a day to celebrate not having a romantic partner. (Read up: 35 Crazy Romantic Ideas for your relationship)

What started off as a reaction to the growing number of single adults in China soon became a national phenomenon thanks to the internet. Though it's a day to celebrate singlehood, some use the occasion to confess their true feelings or give out gifts to their crush.

2. It's also called Bachelors' Day
When the holiday was first born, it was only celebrated by young men without romantic partners. While today, all 180 million singletons in China celebrate the holiday each year

3. Why 11/11?
The holiday is held every year on November 11 because the date consists of four singles: 11/11. The holiday is known in Chinese as "Guanggun Jie," which refers to "bare sticks" — slang for bachelors.

On 11/11/11, the holiday was considered a Super Singles' Day and taken to the next level because the date contained six ones. According to the BBC, it was a huge day for weddings —10x usual daily average.

4. It's the biggest online shopping day of the year
Cyber Monday who? Singles' Day is where the real spending goes down. Since gift-giving became one of the holiday's traditions, retailers started offering sales and Singles Day turned into a major shopping event. According to Business Insider, last year's sales on Singles' Day for the Alibaba Group, China's biggest e-retailer, totaled more than $3.1 billion, which doubles the amount spent by U.S. consumers on Cyber Monday in 2012. This year, the country is expected to spend $4 billion on Singles Day.

American retailers, such as Microsoft, Gap and Toys R Us are planning to participate this year.

5. Let's party
Aside from shopping and gift-giving, the quirky, symbolic holiday has plenty of fun traditions.

· Many singles go to dinner with group friends. Each person pays for themselves to represent their independence.

· Young people, websites and companies often hold "blind date" parties, singles come together in hopes of coupling up. In 2011, the city of Shanghai organized one of the biggest blind dates ever, attracting 10,000 singles.

· Singles eat four youtiao (deep-fried dough sticks) and a steamed bun for breakfast to represent the four single ones and dot in 11.11

· Many men end their single life by proposing or getting married on 11/11.

The truth remains that Singles’ Day is fast becoming a world class celebration just like the international day forwomen orgsm (Read up: International Day of Female Orgasm). Furthermore, the day is one of the few days for singles to easily identify with one another including hooking up and shopping, one truth be told: it is a celebration.

Happy Celebration to all the Singles out there; have fun.