Origin of Singles Day
An old story goes that once there were four single men, leading very boring lives. None of them were married, or had lovers, or did anything exciting. They just sat around all day and played Mahjong.
One day they played Mahjong from 11 in the morning until 11 at night. During the game, no matter who won, the winning card was always the 'four columns' card (the card shows four independent, parallel columns in two lines). Even more of a coincidence, it was Nov 11, or 11/11. In order to commemorate the day, they nicknamed it "Singles Day".
University culture
"Singles Day" was first celebrated at various universities in Nanjing, capital city of Jiangsu Province during the 1990s. It got the name "Singles Day" because the date is comprised of four "ones". These college students have since graduated, and carried their university tradition into society. Singles Day is now a special day for all fashionable youths.
The main way to celebrate "Singles Day" is to have dinner with your single friends, but it's important that each person pay their own way to show their independence. People also hold 'blind date'parties in an attempt to bid goodbye to their single lives.
Creative celebration
For breakfast on "Singles Day", singles often eat four youtiao (deep-fried dough sticks) representing the four "ones" in "11.11" and one baozi (steamed stuffed buns) representing the middle dot.
Many singles also choose to say goodbye to their single lives on this day. Many attend 'blind date' parties and many people choose to marry on this day. In addition to meaning 'single' the four 'ones' of the date can also mean 'only one' as in 'the only one for me.' Some people will use this date and this meaning to tell their special someone that they are the only 'one' in their heart.
每年的11月11日是“光棍节”，就像这个节日的名字，这个新的节日专为那些仍旧单身的人设立。我有点惊讶，当我在网上用GOOGLE搜“光棍节”时，才发现中国是惟一为单身的光棍们设立这个节日的国家，欲知详情，请继续。
光棍节的起源
在很久以前，有四个单身光棍，他们过着非常单调无聊的生活。他们没有人结过婚，或者有过情人，或者做过任何令人兴奋的事情，他们只是坐在那里无所事事地打麻将。
一个11日的一天，他们打麻将从早打到晚，在打牌的过程中，无论谁和，和的那张牌都是四条（那个牌上画了四个棍子，分两排平行），巧合的是，那天是11月11日，也就是11/11。为了纪念这个日子，他们戏称这一天为“光棍节”。
大学传统
90年代，“光棍节”最早是在江苏省南京市的各个大学流传的。光棍节名字的来由源于那天有四个1。这些大学生毕业后把这个大学的传统带到了社会上，于是现在光棍节就成为单身年轻光棍的节日了。
这个节日主要的庆祝方式是和单身朋友一起共进晚餐。重要的是，每个人都要各付各的，以显示各自的独立性。人们也会举行'陌生约会'派对，以争取告别他们的单身生活。
有趣的庆祝方式
光棍节的早餐，光棍们往往吃四根油条（一种油炸的棍状食品）来象征“11.11”的四个1，还有一个包子（一种蒸熟的圆的有馅的食物）象征中间的点。
很多单身光棍经常选择在这一天告别单身生活。很多人参加“陌生约会”，同时也有很多人选择在这天结婚。除了单身的含义外，四个1的日子也可以是惟一的含义，例如我的惟一。一些人将用这个日子和这个特别的含义对他们特别的那个人表白，他们是对方心中的惟一。
