Happy 520! – Wo ai ni – I love you
Happy 520 everyone! You will wonder what does this mean but in the Chinese language some numbers when pronounced together sound like a word or sentence. This can be bad - we often don’t have a 4th or 14th floor because the pronunciation of 4 sounds a lot like death - but it can also be very positive. Today is 20 May or 5.20. In pingyin (the written version of the Chinese characters) it sounds something like Wu Er Ling but when pronounced verbally it sounds more like Wo Ai Ni which of course means I love you. Basically another Valentines Day. The Chinese love plays on homophonic words and numbers with hidden meanings.
520 originally started as a slang word used by the Chinese online community as a shortcut to say I love you in Chinese, like ILY in English. It then came to be associated with the date May 20th (5.20), which became a very romantic day! Today the delivery guys make over time dropping off flowers all over town and the people in our office already got a big amount of bouquets and chocolates from their loved ones (online sales are crazy today).
The history of this day
We have organized a special event for all our office workers to show them appreciation for all their hard work during the (online) Canton Fair last month. We organized a flower arranging session where everyone could make a beautiful arrangement for themselves or their loved one and arranged some chocolate to make this day even sweeter. Piles of flowers were delivered to our office today and everyone was very happily arranging. Even though it’s a typical Chinese event, I would like to send some love to everyone in the world via this blog – we all could use a bit extra during these complex times.
5.2.0 - Wo Ai Ni - I love you!