“双八”一直是中国人眼中的吉祥日。8月8日，3000多对夫妇在距离2008年北京奥运会还有整整一年的时候喜结连理。据北京市政府统计，昨天共有 3390对夫妇登记结婚。

Couples wait in line outside a marriage office in the capital to have their marriages registered on August 8—which they believe is a super lucky day. [sohu.com]

Some 3,390 couples registered for marriage in Beijing on Wednesday, August 8, which is considered highly auspicious date.

Countless couples lined up at the city's marriage registration offices well ahead of time on Tuesday, Beijing Morning Post reported.

Zhao Gang and Cao Man, a young couple from Beijing's eastern Chaoyang District were the first to have their registration finalized. They began waiting outside the office at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.

The figure "8", whose prenunciation resembles "fa" in Cantonese-- big fortune, sounding similar to "fa", has always been deemed a lucky number in Chinese culture. August 8, with two eights, is hence supposed to be capable of bringing a larger share of good luck.

Also, in the traditional lunar calendar, the day was the 26th day of the six month, a number containing two sixes, which is also a lucky number in Chinese culture, meaning everything will be smooth and successful.

August 8 also marks the one-year countdown to the Beijing Olympic Games, as well as the beginning of Autumn according to the Chinese lunar calendar. The ancient calendar, made up of 24 solar terms, represents different climate periods that govern agricultural arrangements and is still functioning today.

Besides on-the-spot queuing, many young couples chose to virtually reserve via the city's online marriage services. Chen Ru, an leading official from the Marriage Registry office in Haidian District, said many couples booked for their big day via the online booking system.

The registration service was fully to capacity on the lucky day, Chen said.

（China Daily）

Vocabulary:  one-year countdown to the Beijing Olympic Games：北京奥运倒计时一周年

（英语点津陈蓓编辑）