Chinese Valentine's Day

Today August 6th 2011, and the 7th day of the 7th month in the Chinese calendar is the Chinese Valentine's Day. It is also known as the Double Seven Day. (Click to read the legendary story behind it).

The God of Marriage who lives on the Moon and grants wishes

It is nice how the Chinese still have and stick to their distinct traditional celebrations. We went with Saeed's team on a trip around Yantai to its most luxurious district, Laishan. Almost everyone of who accompanied us came with their fiancés. They said that at 21-22 years of age almost all Chinese would have a life partner, but they do not marry until around 27-30 years when they have assured owning a home and a car, and secured a long-term full-time career. It is nice how, even for this long time of preparing for marriage, they stick to their commitment because they know that they would not have chosen to be in a serious relation if they were not meant to be for each other.

More than 3 couples in our teams are having their weddings in September. The company hosts a collective wedding to ease it on new brides and grooms. The company also hosts an annual party only for who do not have partners aiming to create possible opportunities.

Here, even for this kind of serious relationship in which we would refer to the partners as fiancés, they still refer to each other as girl-friend & boy-friend. Maybe because they could not find a better translation in English. And having a girlfriend is an issue here, it is one of the 3 major questions they ask... From where are you? What is your name? Do you have a girlfriend...would you want a Chinese! For the Chinese having a life partner is essential, they do not believe in 'enjoying life and changing partners every other day' or 'not getting married because the divorce rate is high and it will not work with us' or 'trying as many to know who is best.' They do seek stability in life and get satisfied by what they have, and by forming a family they fulfill the collective  nature of the Chinese society.

Locking their Hearts together

Also, a wedding tradition is that the guests gift the bride and groom a sack of cash money, not materialistic presents. They believe that this is a better rewarding present which will actually assist the new couple in starting their life by using the money for a real benefit rather than receiving costly flowers or gifts that they would stack and not use. Generally, a colleague would gift around 300-500 Yuans and a close friend or relative would gift around 500-1000 Yuan. It seems much more practical especially for the relatively low income people get in China.

The Love Tree and Swing