 The official 08-08-08 marriage certificate. Pic: Laszlo Balogh
August 11, 2008 8:52 AM
BEIJING - Newlyweds Chen Ming and Sun Wei were
all smiles on Friday, posing with a rose and their wedding
certificate in front of the Beijing Culture Centre, where more
than 1000 couples married.
At least 16,400 couples in the capital and thousands more
nationwide chose the auspicious combination of the eighth day
of the eighth month, 2008.
Eight is a lucky number in Chinese, and on Friday the
Olympic Games will open in Beijing, at 8pm.
"We chose today because of the date and because of the
Olympics - we wanted to celebrate together with the country,"
said Sun Wei, who plans to watch the opening ceremony on
television.
"It's a lucky day," chimed in Chen, who wore a chequered
red top and black shoes with red trim, in keeping with the
Chinese tradition that red is the color of happiness.
Beijing had prepared for an onslaught of brides, with
advance online registration, appointment times and extra
windows at marriage registry bureaus.
Thirty couples wed in an elaborate ceremony at the Catholic
Cathedral on Wangfujing.
"All the world is proud of China today. I want to invite
the world to witness my marriage," said one groom.
In many cities, including Shanghai where 6000 couples wed,
divorces were forbidden for the day to free officials to
process marriage licenses more quickly.
"Divorces are also a natural part of life. You can do
anything you want today," said the smiling Manager Feng, at the
Dongcheng district marriage registry bureau in Beijing, which
was decked out in silk flowers and white and pink balloons.
While the Dongcheng bureau had opened eight registration
windows for the day, two more than usual, it could not fulfill
an impromptu request from a Reuters correspondent.
"I am sorry, we can't process foreign marriages here. You
will have to go to the main city office for that," Feng said.
(Reuters Life!)
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