CHINA: Chinese couples flock to get married and to give birth on the the auspicious date of 8/08/08

Record ID: 841215

  • Title: CHINA: Chinese couples flock to get married and to give birth on the the auspicious date of 8/08/08
  • Date: 17th August 2008
  • Summary: (REUTERS) NEW-BORN BABY CRYING IN COT BABY CRYING CHINESE FLAGS ON THE SIDE OF THE COT / BABY CRYING YOUNG FATHER AND MOTHER BY THE COT OF ANOTHER NEW-BORN BABY, TIANTIAN NEW-BORN BABY TIANTIAN SLEEPING NEXT TO OLYMPIC MASCOT BABY TIANTIAN AND MOTHER LYING IN HOSPITAL BEDS YOUNG MOTHER LYING IN BED, SMILING BABY TIANTIAN SLEEPING
  • Embargoed: 1st September 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • City:
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA6YEW83J6O703HI80HR96AD4L7
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Beijing had banned all large gatherings on Friday (August 8), the opening day of the Olympic Games, but that did not stop thousands of couples from saying 'I do' on what they considered to be a lucky day.
    Eight is a lucky number in Chinese, and on Friday the Olympic Games will open in Beijing, at 8.08 pm (1208 GMT).
    At the capital's Dongjiaominxiang Cathedral, a small congregation of under 20 people was allowed to get together to witness Lu Pin and Chen Hui tie the knot.
    Lu, from nearby Hebei province and his young bride Chen Hui, from Henan Province, are not religious but thought the blessing from the father would give their marriage the best start.
    Chen also thought the Olympics would make their wedding day memorable.

    "The Olympic Games are an international event. We are lucky to be able to have our ceremony on this day. We will never forget our anniversaries either," she said.
    At least 16,400 couples in the capital, and thousands more nation-wide, chose the auspicious combination of the eighth day of the eighth month, 2008.
    Dongcheng District Government had turned its ballroom into a work space to grant marriage certificates. The office, which was decked out in silk flowers and white and pink balloons, was expecting around 1200-1300 couples to turn up on Friday.
    The office director told Reuters the government's historical record was to grant 367 certificates a day. Many couples had had to book two months ahead of time.
    Tong Jiuqi and his wife had waited a long time for this day to arrive.

    "I want people from all over the world to be my witness of my marriage. I will treat her well for the rest of our lives together,"
    teary-eyed Tong said.
    Beijing had prepared for an onslaught of brides, with advance online registration, appointment times and extra windows at marriage registry bureaus.
    In many cities, including Shanghai where 6,000 couples wed, divorces were forbidden for the day to free officials to process marriage licenses more quickly.
    Friday was also a day of celebration for some thirty women at the Maternal and Child Hygiene Hospital of Haidian District, who had given birth to what they called "Olympic babies" earlier in the day.
    The hospital said the thirty babies had been born between 00:00 and 13:00 local time, while some twenty more women were still expected to deliver on the lucky day. This, the hospital's director Zhang Yuping said, was almost fifty percent more than the usual 30 deliveries per day.
    Li Xiaoyi, the proud mother of new-born baby girl, Tiantian, sleeping next to an Olympic mascot, said she felt blessed to give birth on the day the Olympic Games kicked off in the city.

    "It's very meaningful to me that I have a child now and my child was born on the same day as the opening day of the Olympics," she said.
    As women at different stages of pregnancy waited in the hospital's lounge, director Zhang Yuping trashed reports about large numbers of women flocking to hospitals, opting for caesarean section to ensure their babies would be born on the auspicious day.
    Zhang did, however, admit that there had been requests for c-sections, but he said the women had decided to give birth naturally following discussions with hospital staff.

    "After communicating with the mothers who are expecting babies, most of the pregnant women took our advice. They didn't have caesarean operations," he said.
    The auspicious birth date is just the start for China's Olympic babies.
    Many can expect to receive a name to commemorate the event.
    Figures from the Ministry of Public Securities, published on Chinese website www.id5.cn, showed that nearly 5,000 babies have been named after the five good luck dolls known collectively as Fuwa since they were unveiled as the Games' mascots in November 2005.
    So far 1,240 babies have been named Jingjing after the black mascot that resembles a panda and represents the traditional element of wood.
    The second most popular name is Huanhuan with 1,063 babies named after the red, flame-headed mascot which symbolizes the Olympic flame and the passion of sport.
    Next off the rank is Beibei with 880 babies named after the blue Fuwa that represents water as a fish, then green Nini with 642 baby followers and yellow Yingying with 624 babies.
    Combined the five Fuwa names translate as "Beijing Huanying Ni" or
    "Beijing Welcomes You."
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Video restrictions: parts of this video may require additional clearances. Please see ‘Business Notes’ for more information.
Register