Save the date: marriage offices ready for auspicious day

Seventeen marriage registration centers across Shanghai will work overtime on February 2 to satisfy an expected avalanche of demand from lovebirds who want to tie the knot on what is believed to be an auspicious date, Shanghai's civil affairs authorities announced on Tuesday.

The date 2020-02-02 is a rare symmetry date, and 2020 sounds like "love you, love you" in Chinese.

Moreover, it is the ninth day of the lunar month in the Chinese lunar calendar; nine sounds similar to "long" in Chinese, bearing the auspicious meaning of a long-lasting marriage.

These factors make this year's February 2 a popular date for those who want to say "I do."

However, the day is Sunday, so marriage registration authorities will sacrifice their time off to accommodate lovebirds.

"We know it is Sunday, but we still want to draw the most important certificate in our life on such a day full of love," a netizen identified as Qian Xun said.

"I made a bet with my boyfriend, if marriage registration centers open on the day, I will marry him," said another netizen GHF.

Online reservations for marriage on the date will open on Wednesday, the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau announced on Tuesday.

It's a long-standing tradition in Chinese culture to get married on an auspicious date.

A total of 731 couples drew their marriage certificates during the Qixi Festival, also known as Chinese Valentine's Day, last year, which fell on August 7.

The total, including two cross-border marriages, was about double the daily average.

Marriage registration centers across Shanghai also had a surge of lovebirds tying the knot on May 20 last year as the date — May 20, or 520 — sounds similar to wo ai ni, or “I love you,” in Chinese.

On another auspicious date, October 10, 2010, local authorities registered marriages of 10,150 couples, a record high.

In Chinese tradition, the number 10-10-10 symbolizes perfection.