Unattached "sticks" look forward to Singles' Day

Unattached Chinese individuals are celebrating Singles ' Day , or Guanggun Festival in Chinese , which falls on Nov 11 every year . Guanggun literally means " bare sticks " for the 11th day of the 11th month is dominated by the number 1, similar in shape to a stick . Guanggun also denotes a Chinese slang , meaning " single people ". The festival this year is being deemed as " the ultimate Singles ' Day of the century ", as the year 2011 also contains two " sticks " in it ." I ' m going to summon some friends on the Internet and celebrate the century ' s biggest Singles ' Day with them ," said Ji Guangzhong , a 23 -year-old man in Shenyang , Northeast China ' s Liaoning province . " I don ' t even mind if they are male ," added Ji . " Being alone on the day makes me feel miserable ." He made the remark at a shopping mall , which has put up six three-meter-tall bare sticks in front of its gate . Employees working at the mall have been asked to dress like a fuzzy bear on Friday . Holding inflatable hammers , the " bears " will attack couples who show intimacy in public on behalf of single people . The couples attacked will receive presents later . " But , it ' ll be better if the mall gave us , single people , comforting presents ," Ji said . The traditional way to observe the day is to have four fried dough sticks and an egg or a steamed stuffed bun for breakfast , which together represent the date "11.11". First celebrated by a group of college students in Nanjing , East China ' s Jiangsu province , Singles ' Day now is a nationwide pop culture holiday . It even has its own anthem - Love Song for Singles - whose lyrics read , " The more frustrated you feel in pursuing love , the more courageous you should become ." In Shanghai , a grand matchmaking fair is being held in Songjiang district . Hundreds of matchmakers will be present to help attendees find their special ones . Many singles across China would be watching a movie titled Love Is Not Blind on Friday . People from all across the country have purchased tickets in bulk online . " The movie is about a girl who is heartbroken after her boyfriend cheated on her ," said Zuo Fei , a 26 -year-old woman living in East China ' s Zhejiang province . " Watching another girl ' s sad story makes me feel less sad about myself on Singles ' Day ." However , not everybody is as eager to wallow in self-pity as Zuo , on Singles ' Day . " For adults like myself , it is perhaps too childish to celebrate the day ," said Long Ying , a 25 -year-old who works as a department manager of a construction company in Beijing . " I don ' t think being single is something to be proud of , and it ' s not necessary to hang out with friends on the day to flaunt your single status ." Online store owners and shoppers are trying to exploit the economic benefits Singles ' Day might bring in its wake . Most Chinese shopping websites have offered special discounts to mark the day . The sales on Taobao . com , China ' s largest e-commerce platform , amounted to more than 900 million yuan (142 million U.S. dollars ) on Nov 11 last year . But many people are looking at 11/11/11 as an auspicious date , on which they would like to get married , for " one " not only stands for " single ", but could also signify " that Special One ". Xinhua reported that Shanghai ' s civil affairs authority had received more than 3,200 applications until Tuesday , for registering marriages on Friday .