08/08/08 : Your Lucky Day?

The Olympic Games officially opened Friday in Beijing on Aug. 8, 2008, or 8/8/08. It's no coincidence that the Chinese chose this day to open the Games.
They even planned to start the opening ceremonies at 8:08 p.m. in Beijing. That's because the number eight represents good luck in Chinese.

In Mandarin, the word for "eight" sounds like part of the expression "to get rich." Thousands of Chinese are also planning to get married on Friday to take advantage of the lucky date.

The frenzy to marry on the special date is similar to the U.S. craze last year to marry on July 7 for the lucky sevens -- 7/7/07.

Among the qualities that made 8/8/08 so attractive to Chinese Olympic officials is the numeral's perfect symmetry -- it's the only number that can be sliced in half, horizontally or vertically, with each half mirroring the other.

Other numbers in Chinese numerology do not fare as well as the Great 8.

When an American company designed a small park for a Chinese city recently, the original dimensions had to be changed from .4 square kilometers to .39. In China, four is a bad number.

Even though most Chinese think 8/8/08 will be a lucky day, some aren't so sure because of another superstition.

The day falls within the Hungry Ghost month, the seventh month in the Chinese calendar, when important occasions are avoided and business profits wane because spirits are said to be roaming the Earth.

The Meaning of Chinese Numerology
One - The number 1 can represent unity.

Two - There is a Chinese saying "good things come in pairs." They ofetn use double symbols in product brandnames. Cantonese speaking people like the number two because it sounds the same as the word "easy" in Cantonese.

Three - The number 3 in Cantonese sounds like a word that means "life," and is considered a lucky number.

Four - The number 4 is considered an unlucky number in Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Japanese cultures because it sounds like the word "death." Many numbered product lines skip the "4, and in East Asia, some buildings do not have a 4th floor, similar to the American practice of some buildings not having a 13th floor because 13 is considered unlucky.

Five - The number 5 is considered lucky because it is associated with the Five elements in Chinese philosophy, and in turn was historically associated with the Emperor of China.

Six - The number 6 sounds like the word for "flowing," "smooth" or "slippery" which can mean "everything goes smoothly." The number 666 can be seen prominently in many shop windows across China, and people there often pay extra to get a mobile phone number including this string of digits, unlike in Western culture, where it is considered to be demonic as it is the "Number of the Beast."

Seven - Seven is considered spiritual or ghostly. The seventh month of the Chinese calendar is also called the "Ghost Month." During this month, the gates of hell are said to be open so ghosts and spirits are permitted to visit the living realm. It is considered very unlucky.

Eight - The word for "eight" in Chinese sounds similar to the word which means "prosper" or "wealth." In regional dialects the words for "eight" and "fortune" are also similar. It represents good luck.

Nine - Historically, the number 9 was associated with the Emperor of China -- the Emperor's robes often had nine dragons, and Chinese mythology held that the dragon has nine children. The number 9 also sounds like the word for "longlasting" and is often used in weddings.