Chinese Singles’ Day EXPLAINED (Double Eleven 2023)
November 11, 2021
To some, November 11 is just an average day. But if you are in China, 11/11 is so much more: it is Singles’ Day!
What is Chinese Singles’ Day? Why do single people get their own holiday? Why on November 11? How did it become the biggest shopping holiday in the world? Keep reading to find out the answers to these questions.
What is Chinese Singles’ Day?
Why do single people get their own holiday?
Why is Chinese Single's day celebrated on November 11?
How is Chinese Single's Day celebrated?
How did Chinese Single's Day become the biggest shopping holiday in the world?
Useful Singles' Day Phrases
What is Chinese Singles’ Day?
As the name implies, Chinese Single's Day is a day to celebrate singlehood. Of all of China's several Valentine's Days, Chinese Singles' Day is the only one dedicated to anyone who is not involved in a romantic relationship.Chinese Single's Day is celebrated every year on November 11.
Why do single people get their own holiday: The Origins of Chinese Singles' Day
According to legend, Chinese Singles' Day began in 1993 in a Nanjing University dorm room. Four single college guys sat brainstorming how to overcome the monotony of singlehood, and WHAM! Chinese Singles' Day was born.
Since there are already many occasions for couples to celebrate their love, they figured it's only fair that singles also get their own holiday.
Why is Chinese Single's day celebrated on November 11?
Remember those four single guys we mentioned earlier? The group chose the date 11/11 because it consisted of four 1's—that is, four singles, just like them. Pretty cool, huh?How is Chinese Single's Day celebrated?
Since it was created, Singles' Day has grown and morphed, taking on many incarnations along the way. Initially, 11/11 was a popular time for single people to meet and party together in a celebration of singlehood.
It grew from being celebrated mostly by men to being celebrated by both sexes. 11/11 became a popular date for weddings as well.
Self-gifting has also gained popularity in recent years, with many people choosing to treat themselves to extravagant presents.
- Do you know about China's other "Double" holiday? Learn about the Double Ninth Festival here
How did Chinese Single's Day become the biggest shopping holiday in the world?
In 2009, Alibaba, China's largest e-commerce company launched a marketing campaign to promote Singles Day as a shopping holiday by offering large discounts on its online platform. Seeing the campaign's success, many other retailers and e-commerce platforms chose to do the same. Since then, Chinese Singles' Day take on almost a completely new identity: the largest online AND offline shopping day in the world!In what was undeniably a brilliant marketing move, in 2012 Alibaba trademarked the phrase "双十一 shuāng shíyī" (Double Eleven). The world as we knew it would never be the same.
Over the last several years, Singles' Day sales on online platforms exploded, surpassing the US's Black Friday and Cyber Monday four-fold. Moreover, in 2017 Alibaba broke the world record for most transactions in 24 hours!
If that isn't enough, 2020 was the first year that Alibaba and competitor JD ran Singles' Day promotions for 11 days straight (Nov 1-11), breaking all sorts of records along the way.
Useful Singles' Day Phrases
光棍节
Guānggùn Jié
Single Sticks Festival
单身节
Dānshēn jié
Singles' Festival
双十一
Shuāng shíyī
Double Eleven
我是单身。
Wǒ shì dānshēn.
I am single.
About the Author
Eden has been learning Chinese since 2008. She fell in love with the language, food, and culture and never looked back! Eden lived in China for six years, including in Harbin, Beijing, and Dali.
