Asian couples flock to marry on symbolic date

In many Asian countries, where good luck is considered paramount when choosing a wedding date, thousands of couples rushed to get married on 11/11/11. Symbolically, the date is considered to be one of the most auspicious in a century, prompting many couples to rush to the altar.

Because the date consists entirely of ones, in China it is heralded as “singles day,” prompting many couples to marry and “leave their single life behind.” Almost 5,000 couples tied the knot in Shanghai, and in a mass wedding in an eastern city called Jining, 68 couples wed simultaneously.

According to Yahoo News, a Hong Kong fen shui master and TV personality named Mak Ling Ling said, “It’s a good day from a Chinese geomancy perspective, not just because of the numbers 11/11/11 which signify eternal love.” She then went on to warn, “It’s a good start, definitely, but whether or not it will end up in divorce, it depends on how the couples maintain their marriage.”

In Singapore, the Registry of Marriage recorded five times the usual number of marriages. In addition, rumors swirled that Caesarian operations in Korea increased on the auspicious day in order to have children born on the lucky date, but officials were quick to deny those reports.

Wedding planners are expecting a deluge of weddings on another lucky date, Nov. 20; 20/11/2011 is an exact repetition of the numbers and perhaps even luckier than 11/11/11.