Why ‘Singles Day’ Is The Most Popular Shopping Day Of The Year
There's nothing more annoying than friends or family asking you why you're still single and haven't settled down yet. But come November 11th, you can officially tell those nosy Nancy's to "talk to the hand".
A Chinese holiday has recently been making waves around the world. Not only is it the most lucrative shopping day of the year, but most importantly, it celebrates the single life. So if you're single and not ready to mingle, pay attention.
The Single Life
When getting together with your extended family for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or birthdays, you dread the inevitable. Your mom or some nosy aunt will corner you during the party and ask "Why haven't you found Mr. Right yet?"
Whether you just haven't found "the one" or you prefer being single, you always ask yourself why can't they just let you embrace your singleness and be happy? Well, turns out there's an actual holiday for that.
November 11th
In China, November 11th is an unofficial holiday but celebrated event known as "Singles' Day". The anti-Valentine's Day holiday was founded in the early 1990s by Chinese students at Nanjing University to celebrate singledom and for a time was known as "Bachelors' Day", but is now celebrated by both sexes.
In the decades following, the holiday has caught on in big and surprising ways, in part due to social media. When it comes to Singles' Day, money talks.
Chinese Numerology
In the U.S., November 11th is Veterans Day. It's spent remembering the men and women who served in the military and also marks the day in 1918 where an armistice was declared and World War I officially came to an end.
But in Chinese numerology, November 11 (or 11/11 as it's been rebranded) means something very different. 11/11 was chosen because the number 1 represents a single person - or group of singles – and also means "guānggùn", which translates into "bare stick". There's even more purpose to numerology in our worlds, and this personalized video report can help you discover what your birthdate means to you.
Move Over Black Friday
So what is the hallmark of Singles' Day? Shopping. Move over Black Friday and Cyber Monday, because Singles' Day is the true king of commerce.
Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba spearheaded the festival when "In 2009, the retailer realized Singles Day could be an opportunity to profit from single consumers by providing an occasion to shop for themselves," according to Vox.
Shop 'Til You Drop
Just how big is Singles' Day in the commercial sphere? In 2018, sales on Singles' Day exceeded $30 billion, far surpassing American shopping days such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Amazon Prime Day, according to Forbes. In fact, it's the world's largest online shopping event.
200,000 individual brands entice shoppers with too-good-to-be-true deals, and Alibaba brings out all the stops by even featuring star-studded fashion shows and concerts to kick off the event. Their 2019 Singles' Day festival, for example, featured a concert by Taylor Swift.
Different Meanings For Different People
For other single men and women, Singles' Day is meant to get out into the world and meet someone. From blind dates to parties, many single people embrace the holiday with the hopes of socializing and finding love. Other people even get married on Singles' Day and officially change their relationship status from "single" to "married".
So whether you're embracing your single status and shopping or venturing out to a party in the hopes of finding true love, Singles' Day means something different to everyone.
