英語暢談青春文化50主題 24 Singles'Day 光棍節(jié)

Singles’ Day光棍節(jié)

A:Do you know what holiday falls on November 11th?

B:I’ve heard that a lot of young people call this day “Singles’ Day”! But how did it come from?

A:It is said it originated from the early 1990s, when college students first put forward the idea of choosing the day of November 11 (1111) as a day for single people. It became popular and turned into a cultural event on campus even society.

B:Then, How do they celebrate Single’ Day?

A:There are tons of ways to celebrate it! At some universities, student organizations have singles parties, to give single guys and girls an opportunity to meet and stop being single; some people go out singing and drinking, let off steam about being single; and some people go on blind dates looking for suitable partners; some people get together with other single friends to just have a good time. Singles’ Day has also become a holiday even people who aren’t single, on this day lots of people with partners pretend they are single again, together tasting their old single life.

B:That’s really cool! Looks like this holiday is a lot of fun for a lot of people.

A:It is, in China, the number of single people has increased. Before, being “single”had a connotation of being lonely, lonesome, and unloved, but now it is no longer the substitute name for sadness, it means more independence, more freedom and unrestrained way of life.

B:So what you’re saying is, before they were “passively”single, and now they’re “actively”single?

A:Some people are that way, but definitely not all of them. There are still lots of people these days who are sad about being single, and want to escape it somehow, but more and more young people think that marriage isn’t something one has to do, they aren’t looking for partners, and they don’t want to get married. They consider themselves very young at heart, and still have a lot of other things to do.

B:It looks like the economy has developed, society is changing, and people’s values are also changing!

A:In the past many older young people just married for the sake of marriage. But nowadays young people’s ideas about marriage and values have changed. They value intellectual exchange more, and require a common language of communication.

B:Perhaps this trend of singlehood will have a definite negative impact on society! If the number of single people increases, the existence of society and humanity may both be threatened. In some western countries, this trend has already become apparent.

A:Yep! So, some experts say, this kind of lifestyle deserves respect, but shouldn’t be advocated!