If you were in outer space for the last couple of years, I'd understand why you may not be aware about the significance of tomorrow's date 08/08/08, in short 888. The Beijing Olympics is set to open tomorrow. Then there's the countless weddings scheduled on this day--a record of 9000 couples tying the knot in China alone. And get this, many expectant mother's are actually doing the silly thing of getting C-section just to make sure they deliver their child on this day.
What's the fascination with the number 8 anyhow? Easy to remember perhaps? If that's the reason, then I guess it's a good one. We men need all the help we can get. If the wedding anniversary and your child's birthdate will coincide on the same auspicious date, why not?
Lucky? Apparently, some Chinese consider this lucky because the Chinese word for 8, 八 (bā), sounds a lot like 發 (fā ) as in 一路發(yí lù fā) of the 168 or 一六八(yí liù bā) naming craze. This word means something like prosperity and 一路發 means "prosperity all the way". If that's the case, then I'd say they should've gone for 01/06/08. Much simpler that way.
Still there are others who chose this date because they say the 8 takes the shape of the infinity symbol ∞ albeit fallen to its side. However one of the explanations given (the one which I subscribe to) for the choice of the infinity symbol is of "an hourglass turned 90° thus taking infinite time to empty". In which case, this makes 8 not only inappropriate but also finite.
Of course, people are taking this 888 business a tad too far, in this article they said that
What's the fascination with the number 8 anyhow? Easy to remember perhaps? If that's the reason, then I guess it's a good one. We men need all the help we can get. If the wedding anniversary and your child's birthdate will coincide on the same auspicious date, why not?
Lucky? Apparently, some Chinese consider this lucky because the Chinese word for 8, 八 (bā), sounds a lot like 發 (fā ) as in 一路發(yí lù fā) of the 168 or 一六八(yí liù bā) naming craze. This word means something like prosperity and 一路發 means "prosperity all the way". If that's the case, then I'd say they should've gone for 01/06/08. Much simpler that way.
Still there are others who chose this date because they say the 8 takes the shape of the infinity symbol ∞ albeit fallen to its side. However one of the explanations given (the one which I subscribe to) for the choice of the infinity symbol is of "an hourglass turned 90° thus taking infinite time to empty". In which case, this makes 8 not only inappropriate but also finite.
Of course, people are taking this 888 business a tad too far, in this article they said that
Many marrying couples are carrying eight even further, with eight-course dinners, eight bridesmaids, 8:08 p.m. first dances.Whatever, as long as I can eat 8 times tomorrow its fine with me (888 pun intended).
10 comments:
yeah, and the mandaue business month (organized by chinese businessmen) opens today. i know a lot of business with anniversaries today, too.
lol this is really an interesting post... and to have something in addition to this lucky 8 thing, my midterm exams were actually scheduled today! hahaha for luck? i'm not really sure, but i sure do hope it is!:-)
well, to celebrate this 888 day, i had 8 scoops of ice cream, 8 minutes of jogging (LOL), and 8 glasses of water! well, nothing special happened today for me though. does that mean good luck isn't on my side? Hehe. Bout you philos, how was you 888 day? :)
@little light: Hehe... at least those are easy to remember dates
@neuroticsister: haha... how'd u do? did the exams felt like it was never going to end? :p
@miss elle: whoa! give me some! hehe... I did not blog today? :p I really didn't think this day special, and except for the Olympics which I didn't even get to watch, nothing big...
ah.. now i know why they called the place 168.. i thought that was just the lot number or something else similar... hihi.. how do you type in chinese??
After a month of delay, the Mercury drug in our area opened also on 888. Too bad I didn't get pregnant soon after my daughter was born on 777, so that my 2nd baby would b born on 888. Ha ha!
i'd still eat eight times today even if it's not 8-8-8!
But come to think of it, August is only July in the Chinese calendar. Which is not really a good month. Still, there are other opinions whether the 7th month is auspicious or not.
Would the love for the number 8 overpower the fear of the unlucky 7th month? Interesting conflict. :D
Hehehehehe...anyway...Go Olympics!
@Camille: Yeah, that's why a lot of places try to name their establishment 168 (or variations thereof) hehe... I use this dictionary and just copy-paste, but you should be able to do that using MS Word (as long as you install the Chinese Language support)
@ceemee: Haha... coincidence? I think not... wow! 777 is cool, and 888 would've been cool if it ended up happening, but there's always 999 hehe... if you're aiming for 3 kids, another at 11.11.11 would cap it off perfectly :p
@prinsesamusang: :p
@宝茹: I guess it did, if you can ignore the 9000 couples who got married in China then, you can't ignore the Olympic opening. :)
Ha! I ignored everything 888-related but I partied that night!
Post a Comment