Chinese Young Couples Rush To Get Married On “Triple 12 Day” For Good Luck

A young couple show their marriage certificates at a civil affairs bureau in Zaozhuang City, east China’s Shandong Province, Dec. 12, 2012. Young couples across the country rushed to get married on Dec, 12, 2012, or 12/12/12, hoping that the “triple 12 day” will bring them good luck. In Chinese, the number 12 is pronounced like “Yao Ai”, meaning “To Love” in English. <Xinhua/Sun Zhongzhe>

Couples wait to register for marriage at a civil affairs bureau in Shantou City, south China’s Guangdong Province, Dec. 12, 2012. Young couples across the country rushed to get married on Dec, 12, 2012, or 12/12/12, hoping that the “triple 12 day” will bring them good luck. In Chinese, the number 12 is pronounced like “Yao Ai”, meaning “To Love” in English. <Xinhua/Yao Jun>

Twelve couples attend a mass wedding ceremony at the Peak in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012. At least 700 couples are expected to get married in the date 12/12/12, the last such triple-date in this year in Hong Kong as they believe the date will bring them everlasting love. <AP/NEWSis/Kin Cheung>

A couple pose for photos as they wait to solemnize their marriage at the Singapore Registry of Marriage, Dec. 12, 2012. A total of 541 couples applied to solemnize their marriage in Singapore on Dec. 12, 2012, hoping that the “triple 12 day” will bring them good luck. <Xinhua/Then Chih Wey>

Brides and grooms sit inside a bus before participating in a parade during a mass wedding ceremony organized for the poor in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012. Twelve lower-income couples participated in the event that was held at exactly at 12 o’clock on 12/12/12, a date seen as auspicious by many astrologers, which will not occur again for almost 100 years. <AP/NEWSis/Gembong Nusantara>

Father’s hold their babies who were born on 12/12/12 as they pose for photographs at a private hospital in Bangalore, India, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012. The date 12/12/12, seen as auspicious by astrologers, saw an influx of mothers to local hospitals looking to give birth on the date which won’t happen again for nearly 100 years, local media reported. <AP/NEWSis/Aijaz Rahi>

Just-married couples cut cake during a mass wedding for 44 couples on the occasion of the “triple 12 day” in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Dec. 12, 2012. <Xinhua/Chong Voon Chung>