An article in Beijing’s central state-run English daily reveals just how much the West’s most famous Hallmark holiday means to some in China. From China Daily:
“Nowadays, Valentine’s Day is widely celebrated in China, and divorce on this ‘day of love’ could be hurtful,” the newspaper cited Gao Zhi, a judge at the Xicheng District Court, as saying.
“We didn’t arrange the sessions of any divorce cases on Thursday, which is courtesy, rather than a policy,” said Yu Lihua, a senior female judge in charge of divorces at the Shijingshan District Court.
The reason for the practice, according to Yu, is that the majority of the judges presiding over divorce proceedings are young people who take the Valentine’s Day seriously.
Below are Some photos taken on Valentine’s Day in China, via fengniao.com and Daqi.com:
And in another China Daily article, Chinese fall hard for imported holiday of Valentine’s Day:
In the booming eastern city of Wenzhou, young couples rushing to get married on this special day led a downtown registry office to open 30 minutes early on Thursday morning — and to stop accepting divorce applications for the day.
Even old couples want to try the Western holiday: 60 years into their marriage, a couple in Xi’an in northwestern Shaanxi Province decided they, too, wanted to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
The news was published on a local newspaper on Tuesday and by 6 p.m. on Wednesday, about 1,500 people had put up Internet postings, 90 percent of which voiced support.
