Singles' Day

Singles' Day, or Bachelors' Day, originated at Nanjing University in 1993. Singles' Day celebrations spread to several other universities in Nanjing in the 1990s.{{cite web|title=How China's Singles' Day Holiday Sold Out|url=https://time.com/3576381/china-singles-day-history/|website=Times|date=11 November 2014|access-date=10 November 2015|archive-date=22 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422152721/http://time.com/3576381/china-singles-day-history/|url-status=live}} 11 November (11/11), consisting of four 1s, was chosen as it represents four singles.{{Cite book |last=Jin |first=Keyu |title=The New China Playbook: Beyond Socialism and Capitalism |date=2023 |publisher=Viking |isbn=978-1-9848-7828-1 |location=New York |author-link=Keyu Jin}}{{Rp|page=53}}

There are several ideas explaining the creation of the Singles' Day festival.{{Cite news|url=https://publicholidays.cn/singles-day/|title=Singles' Day 2017|work=Public Holidays China|access-date=30 November 2017|archive-date=20 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020213353/https://publicholidays.cn/singles-day/|url-status=live}} The most widely accepted idea is that the holiday grew out of Nanjing University's dorm culture. One origin story is that in 1993, four male students of Nanjing University's Mingcaowuzhu (all single men) dorm discussed how they could break away from the monotony of being single and agreed that 11 November would be a day of events and celebrations in honor of being single.{{Cite news|url=http://www.timeoutshanghai.com/features/Blog-Shopping/48992/11-things-you-need-to-know-about-1111-Singles-Day-shopping-festival-.html|title=11 things you need to know about 11.11 Singles' Day shopping festival |last=Heng-hsuan Su|first=Angela |website=Time Out Shanghai |date=9 November 2017 |access-date=30 November 2017|archive-date=12 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171112112106/http://www.timeoutshanghai.com/features/Blog-Shopping/48992/11-things-you-need-to-know-about-1111-Singles-Day-shopping-festival-.html|url-status=dead}} These activities spread through the university and eventually made their way into wider society. The spread increased with social media use, and the event has become increasingly popular within contemporary Chinese culture and society.

Singles' Day serves as an occasion for single people to meet and for parties to be organized. The holiday was initially only celebrated by young men, hence the initial name Bachelors' Day. However, it is now widely celebrated by both sexes. Blind date parties are popular on this day, in an attempt to alter the single status of the participants. Although this date is meant to celebrate singlehood, the desire to find a spouse or partner is often expressed by young Chinese people on this date, while other love-related issues are discussed by the Chinese media.

The event is not an officially recognized public holiday in China, although it has become the largest offline and online shopping day in the world. Sales in Alibaba's e-commerce websites, Tmall and Taobao, have reached US$5.8 billion in 2013, US$9.3 billion in 2014, US$14.3 billion in 2015, US$17.8 billion in 2016, and over US$25.4 billion in 2017. JD.com also achieved a sales record of US$19.1 billion in 2017, while Lazada drums up US$123 million.{{cite web|url=https://aircargoworld.com/allposts/chinas-11-11-volumes-for-alibaba-jd-com-continue-to-surge/|title=China's 11.11 volumes for Alibaba, JD.com continue to surge|author=Charles Kauffman|date=14 November 2017|work=aircargoworld|accessdate=15 November 2017|archive-date=30 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630152912/https://aircargoworld.com/allposts/chinas-11-11-volumes-for-alibaba-jd-com-continue-to-surge/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.techinasia.com/china-alibaba-singles-day-2014-spending-total/|title=New record for world's biggest shopping day as Alibaba's shoppers spend $9.3 billion in 24 hours|author=Steven Millward|date=12 November 2014|work=Tech in Asia|accessdate=5 December 2014|archive-date=12 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112044039/https://www.techinasia.com/china-alibaba-singles-day-2014-spending-total/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alibaba-singles-day-idUSKCN0SZ34J20151111|title=Alibaba's Singles' Day sales hit $14.32 billion|agency=Reuters|date=11 November 2015|work=Reuters|accessdate=11 November 2014|archive-date=22 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122070837/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alibaba-singles-day-idUSKCN0SZ34J20151111|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/602850/big-data-game-changer-alibabas-double-11-event-raises-the-bar-for-online-sales/|title=Big Data Game-Changer: Alibaba's Double 11 Event Raises the Bar for Online Sales|website=MIT Technology Review|access-date=16 November 2016|archive-date=9 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181109015950/https://www.technologyreview.com/s/602850/big-data-game-changer-alibabas-double-11-event-raises-the-bar-for-online-sales/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://qz.com/1127087/singles-day-crazy-stats-from-alibabas-online-shopping-extravaganza/|title=Crazy statistics from China's biggest shopping day of the year|last1=Horwitz|first1=Josh|work=Quartz|access-date=12 November 2017|archive-date=11 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111204349/https://qz.com/1127087/singles-day-crazy-stats-from-alibabas-online-shopping-extravaganza/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.techinasia.com/china-singles-day-2017-record-spending|title=Alibaba smashes Singles Day record as shopping spree hits $25b|work=www.techinasia.com|access-date=12 November 2017|archive-date=29 May 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210529111934/https://www.techinasia.com/china-singles-day-2017-record-spending|url-status=live}}

As more people join in the celebration of this holiday, many companies have taken the opportunity to target younger consumers including businesses such as restaurants, karaoke parlors, and online shopping malls. For example, the Chinese online shopping mall Taobao sold goods worth 19 billion CNY (about US$3 billion) on 11 November 2012.{{Cite web |date=2012-11-13 |title=Chinese online mall Taobao reports $3B — yes billion — in sales in one day (infographic … in Chinese) |url=https://venturebeat.com/business/chinese-online-mall-taobao-reports-3b-yes-billion-in-sales-in-one-day-infographic-in-chinese/ |access-date=2023-11-11 |website=VentureBeat |language=en-US |archive-date=11 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231111225115/https://venturebeat.com/business/chinese-online-mall-taobao-reports-3b-yes-billion-in-sales-in-one-day-infographic-in-chinese/ |url-status=live}}

On Singles' Day 2017, Alibaba set a world record for most payment transactions during the festival. Its mobile wallet app Alipay processed 256,000 payment transactions per second. A total of 1.48 billion transactions were processed by Alipay in the entire 24 hours.{{cite news |title=Alibaba Records RMB 168.2 Billion in 2017 Singles' Day Sales |url=https://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2017/11/13/alibaba-records-rmb-1682-billion-singles-day-sales |access-date=26 August 2023 |work=www.thebeijinger.com |date=13 November 2017 |language=EN |archive-date=26 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230826032535/https://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2017/11/13/alibaba-records-rmb-1682-billion-singles-day-sales |url-status=live}}

In 2020, Singles' Day resulted in the mailing of four billion parcels.{{Cite book |last=Liu |first=Lizhi |title=From Click to Boom: The Political Economy of E-Commerce in China |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2024 |isbn=9780691254104}}{{Rp|page=1}}

Singles' Day is the world's largest online shopping event.{{Rp|page=1}} The event is now nearly four times the size of America's biggest shopping days, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/12/chinese-shoppers-spend-a-record-25bn-in-singles-day-splurge|title=Chinese shoppers spend a record $25bn in Singles Day splurge|last=Haas|first=Benjamin|date=12 November 2017|work=The Guardian|access-date=30 November 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=16 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716053731/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/12/chinese-shoppers-spend-a-record-25bn-in-singles-day-splurge|url-status=live}}

Singles' Day has become a cultural event. Alibaba usually hosts large celebratory festivals on the night before its biggest shopping day which have featured global celebrities including Nicole Kidman in 2017, Taylor Swift at Alibaba's Shanghai gala in 2019, and Katy Perry performing in a livestream in 2020.{{Cite web|last=Tan|first=Huileng|title=Singles' Day kicks off on Thursday in China with a massive party. Here are 5 stats that put the scale of the world's biggest shopping festival into perspective.|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/singles-day-worlds-biggest-shopping-festival-starts-thursday-china-2021-11|access-date=2021-11-17|website=Business Insider|language=en-US|archive-date=29 November 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20211129052244/https://www.businessinsider.com/singles-day-worlds-biggest-shopping-festival-starts-thursday-china-2021-11|url-status=live}} Not merely a shopping event but the holiday is also a day when people can party to socialize and meet other people, as well as practising traditions that celebrate the single life.{{Cite web|title=Singles Day|url=https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/singles-day/|access-date=2021-11-17|website=Days Of The Year|language=en|archive-date=17 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117043525/https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/singles-day/|url-status=live}}

2011 marked the Singles Day of the Century (Chinese pinyin: Shiji Guanggun Jie) as this date had six "ones" rather than four, increasing the significance of the occasion.{{Cite web |title=A holiday invasion – Why are Chinese enthusiastically adopting new festive events? |url=http://www.thinkingchinese.com/a-holiday-invasion-why-are-chinese-enthusiastically-adopting-new-festive-events |access-date=2023-11-11 |website=Thinking Chinese |archive-date=1 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601103204/http://www.thinkingchinese.com/a-holiday-invasion-why-are-chinese-enthusiastically-adopting-new-festive-events |url-status=dead}} In 2011, an above-average number of marital celebrations occurred in Hong Kong and Beijing on 11 November.{{Cite news |last=Chin |first=Josh |date=2011-11-11 |title=Chinese Couples Rush to the Altar on 11/11/11 |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-CJB-14650 |access-date=2023-11-11 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=3 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703042643/https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/11/11/chinese-couples-rush-to-the-altar-on-111111/ |url-status=live}}

The following symbolism has been associated with the special date:

• 1: the digit 1 symbolizes an individual, a single person
• 11: two individuals finding each other and being together on one side of the special date (11.11)
• 2 x (11): a celebration of two or more couples, each comprising two single individuals finding each other on the special date (11.11)

Singles' Day has since been popularized through the internet and is now observed at several places outside of China as well. The holiday has particularly grown in Southeast Asia, with customers in the Lazada's Southeast Asian marketplaces ordering 6.5 million items in 2017.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/13/alibabas-singles-day-shopping-event-in-southeast-asia-with-lazada.html|title=Singles Day is not just for China anymore|last=Saiidi|first=Uptin|date=13 November 2017|work=CNBC|access-date=10 January 2018|archive-date=21 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421061153/https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/13/alibabas-singles-day-shopping-event-in-southeast-asia-with-lazada.html|url-status=live}} In Indonesia, for example, 11 November is dubbed by some e-commerce websites as the "Harbolnas" (National Online Shopping Day),{{cite news |title=Harbolnas 11.11, Ini Promo yang Ditawarkan Lazada, Shopee, dan Bukalapak |url=https://money.kompas.com/read/2020/11/11/063217126/harbolnas-1111-ini-promo-yang-ditawarkan-lazada-shopee-dan-bukalapak?page=all |accessdate=11 November 2020 |work=KOMPAS.com |date=11 November 2020 |language=id |archive-date=15 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115215823/https://money.kompas.com/read/2020/11/11/063217126/harbolnas-1111-ini-promo-yang-ditawarkan-lazada-shopee-dan-bukalapak?page=all |url-status=live}} though it is usually took place on 12 December.{{cite news |title=Apa Itu Harbolnas yang Digelar pada 12.12 Besok? |url=https://tirto.id/apa-itu-harbolnas-yang-digelar-pada-1212-besok-enf1 |accessdate=11 November 2020 |work=tirto.id |date=11 December 2019 |language=id |archive-date=11 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111150151/https://tirto.id/apa-itu-harbolnas-yang-digelar-pada-1212-besok-enf1 |url-status=live}}

In the United Kingdom, National Singles Day is celebrated on 11 March. It was initiated by a group of internationally recognised dating experts in order to help singles either embrace their single status or "do something about it".{{Cite web|url=https://www.globaldatinginsights.com/news/new-uk-dating-fair-brings-singles-brands-together-mark-national-singles-day/|title=New UK Dating Fair Brings Singles & Brands Together To Mark National Singles Day|date=10 January 2017|access-date=11 March 2019|archive-date=17 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217055446/https://www.globaldatinginsights.com/news/new-uk-dating-fair-brings-singles-brands-together-mark-national-singles-day/|url-status=live}}

MediaMarkt, a German company, promotes Singles' Day in their stores.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mediamarkt.de/de/shop/singlesday.html|title=Der Singles Day 2018|website=MediaMarkt Onlineshop|access-date=10 January 2018|archive-date=26 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526230209/https://www.mediamarkt.de/de/shop/singlesday.html|url-status=live}} Belgian MediaMarkt also participates, but reactions have been negative, as 11 November is the anniversary of the Armistice of 11 November 1918 that ended World War I, and the day is associated with somber commemoration of the war dead in Belgium.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20171108_03176214|title=Dit weekend vieren we een nieuwe feestdag, en die is vooral interessant voor koopjesjagers|last=jdb,sir|work=Het Nieuwsblad|access-date=9 November 2017|language=nl-BE|archive-date=6 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306042135/https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20171108_03176214|url-status=live}} In 2016, Swedish electronics retailer Elgiganten promoted a Singles Day campaign in Norway before implementing it in the other Nordic countries the following year.{{Cite web|url=https://nordic.businessinsider.com/the-worlds-biggest-shopping-fest-singles-day-that-finally-is-coming-to-the-nordics-2017-11/|title='Singles Day', the world's biggest shopping fest, is finally coming to the Nordics|date=8 November 2017|first=Joakim|last=Malmberg|work=Business Insider|access-date=11 November 2018|archive-date=11 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111215318/https://nordic.businessinsider.com/the-worlds-biggest-shopping-fest-singles-day-that-finally-is-coming-to-the-nordics-2017-11/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/11/11/chinese-couples-rush-to-the-altar-on-111111/|title=Chinese Couples Rush to the Altar on 11/11/11|last=Chin|first=Josh|date=11 November 2011|website=WSJ|language=en-US|access-date=10 January 2018|archive-date=3 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703042643/https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/11/11/chinese-couples-rush-to-the-altar-on-111111/|url-status=live}}

The term "双十一" (Double 11) was trademarked in China by Alibaba Group on 28 December 2012, under registration numbers 10136470 and 10136420. In October 2014, Alibaba threatened legal action against media outlets that accept advertising from competitors that use this term.{{cite web|url= http://investorplace.com/2014/11/alibaba-stock-jd-singles-day-double-11/|title= The Chinese government has essentially given Alibaba the 'Double 11' market|last=Johnson |first= Eric |date= 6 November 2014|access-date= 10 November 2014|work= InvestorPlace|archive-date= 30 June 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190630221959/https://investorplace.com/2014/11/alibaba-stock-jd-singles-day-double-11/|url-status= live}}

{{commons category|Singles' day}}

• Black Friday (shopping)
• Black Day in South Korea
• Boxing Day
• Sheng nü, so-called "leftover women" who remain unmarried
• Singles Awareness Day
• Singles event
• Super Saturday
• Pepero Day, Korean "Valentines day" on the same day
• Pocky & Pretz Day
• Qixi Festival, Chinese "Valentine's Day"
• Remembrance Day and Veterans Day, military memorial days observed on the same day, in commemoration of the end of World War I.

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/citylife/2006-11/10/content_729511.htm Creative Singles Day]

Category:1990s neologisms

Category:Autumn in China

Category:Marriage in Chinese culture

Category:November observances

Category:Public holidays in China

Category:Unofficial observances