The 20th of May is a very special day for
the Chinese because they celebrate love on this day! For the Chinese, today is
like a Valentine’s day.
During this lovely day, couples go on a date
or spend time together. And for those who are single, well, it’s a perfect time
for them to be brave and show their love to their main crush! Nobody can resist
a declaration of love on this special event!
Talking about this special event, you may
wonder why it occurs on this day and not another one in Chinese. The answer is
quite simple. It’s all about the sounds. When you write May 20th in numbers,
it’s written 5.20. When you pronounce the numbers 5. 2. 0 in Chinese, 五二零 wǔ èr líng, they sound very close to the words 我爱你 wǒ ài nǐ. See? They don’t sound exactly the same, but they sound
quite similar, and that’s enough! The Chinese love plays on homophonic words
and numbers with hidden meanings.
520 originally started as a slang word used by the Chinese online as a shortcut to say I love you in Chinese, like ILY in English. It then came to be associated with the date May 20th (5.20), which therefore became a very romantic day!
