The Chinese are very big into numbers. Apparently, the number 8 is a good number because the Mandarin word for eight (ba) sounds very similar to the Mandarin word for wealth or prosperity (fa). This is apparently why the Chinese officials chose to start the Olympic opening ceremony at 8:08 p.m. on 8-8-08. And, it seems that some 16,400 marriages in China began on August 8. From what I read, there isn’t actually any kind of a ceremony that day for the couples, it’s just the day that they go to the courthouse, pick up their marriage certificate and “poof” they are married.
Now, on the American side, there was a baby girl born in Fergus Falls, MN on 8-8-08 at 8:08 a.m. weighing in at 8 pounds 8 ounces. What are the odds? And now, for the somewhat freaky part; I posted a blog on August 8 regarding the start of the Olympics. I realized after the fact that it was my 88th blog post. I’m not really into lucky numbers, and I certainly didn’t have the forethought to plan it as my 88th blog, so as I said, I just find the whole thing a bit freaky!
It doesn’t really matter what date it is, I still love the Olympics. My favorites are swimming, diving, and gymnastics so these first few days have been awesome!