Another auspicious date gives rise to ‘love melody’
Print Edition
“Who are you planning to spend New Year’s Eve with?” young urbanites are asking each other as year 2013 draws to a close.
Their interpretation of the new year is a “love melody,” as the way years 2013 and 2014 are pronounced in Chinese both resemble the phrase “I love you for life.”
“Though time goes by so fast and another year has passed, our love remains unchanged,” said Li Chunyan, a Beijing school teacher, who plans to see the new year in with her fiance Zhang Zhigang.
Initiated by webusers and online store owners, love celebrations reach a climax on January 3 — a date that, when written in the format 2014.1.3 reads like “Love you for a lifetime.”
A film has even been made commemorating the occasion. “201413,” a romantic comedy starring TV talkshow host Li Weijia, will debut at cinemas on January 1 instead of January 3 in an effort to draw more moviegoers on the holiday.
The same love melody was played at least twice in the past year, on January 4, 2013 — a date also interpreted as “love for a lifetime” — and again on May 20, which is pronounced similar to “I love you.”
Celebrations of these occasions almost always begin on the web and then gain momentum with the public, retailers and consumers.
As Beijing bachelor Wang Lei, 28, sees it, such festivals are more “interesting” than traditional holidays.
“You are free to decide what to do and how much money to spend,” Wang said. “You can choose to hang out with friends or stay in all by yourself.”
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