Photo: VCG
As the "eternal life" day on March 14 approaches, couples who are hoping for good fortune have been voicing their desire to get married on the day, which falls on Sunday. But they are facing frustration, with one marriage registry in East China's Anhui Province recently showing its attitude: "Congrats, but sorry, we don't work overtime on the weekend."
The remark was made by a civil affairs bureau in Huaining county in Anhui on the opinion board of the local government, in reply to a message that a citizen left, asking the bureau to open on March 14 as it is a "special day" this year.
The combination of 2021 and March 14, "1314," is a popular kind of slang representing "eternal life" as it sounds similar to "yi sheng yi shi" when read in Chinese, which means "one life, one world."
"My wife and I really want to get married on the day. Please open for the registration in light of the day's uniqueness," said the citizen in the message.
The civil affairs bureau responded to the message a few days later, turning down the request in a determined manner. "The marriage registry will not provide service on the day as it is a non-work day," it said, adding "may you have a happy marriage and eternal love."
The "gentle yet decisive" reply from the bureau soon attracted attention from netizens on Chinese social media, making it a hot topic trending on Sina Weibo on Tuesday.
Using the "good luck" of the "eternal love" as a reason to ask the marriage registry to open on a Sunday sounds "funny" to some netizens.
"If this one works, then the civil affairs bureau should open on May 20 (520, meaning 'I love you') and September 9 (99, meaning 'forever love') as well since they also bring 'good luck' for a marriage," read one comment on Weibo.
Other people focused more on arguing that true love doesn't see any difference in terms of registration day.
"When the two are in a solid bond, they can even get married on the Qingming Day (Tomb-Sweeping Day) and stay happy forever," joked another Weibo user.