Will 8-8-08 Be China's Lucky Day?

I am told that the Chinese government chose 8:08:08 p.m. on 8/8/08 as the time and date of the Olympic Games opening ceremonies because eight is considered a lucky number in China. That's apparently because "ba," the word for "eight" in Mandarin, sounds so much like "fa," the word for "wealth" or "prosper." Needless to say, gold medal expectations are high.

Also, a great many Chinese couples have reportedly planned their weddings for the auspicious day, and some married couples even went to the trouble of timing the conception of their babies in hopes of scoring an 8/8/08 birthday.

Lest any Westerners feel tempted to heap scorn upon the Chinese for their superstitious ways, let me remind everyone that it was only a little over a year ago that couples all across America lined up in record numbers to say their wedding vows on lucky 7/7/07, touted by many as the most popular wedding day in history.

China being a country of over 1 billion inhabitants, I would venture to say that any previous nuptial record is about to be broken.

Let the gold medals fall where they may.

Read more about it:
• 7-7-07 - Luckiest Date in 100 Years? - Urban Legends
• 8-8-08 at 8:08 - LA Times Olympics blog
• Chinese Counting on Lucky Number 8 - CNN
• Look for Good Fortune on 8-8-08 - Chron.com
• 8-8-08 - A Lucky Day for Weddings - NPR
• 8-8-08 - Your Lucky Day? - Fox News