An increasing number of young Chinese couples are choosing to marry before the Chinese Lunar New Year, as the lunar cycle for 2005 is not considered auspicious by some superstitious people.

According to the 24 solar terms, by which the solar year is divided under the traditional Chinese calendar, Feb. 4 is the Beginning of Spring, the first solar term. As the Lunar New Year will fall on Feb. 9, it just skips the Beginning of Spring. The Chinese lunar 2005 is the Year of the Rooster, a zodiac sign that symbolizes a hurried and non-stop life, as the rooster has to get up very early and herald the daybreak. So the Year of the Rooster is regarded by some people as unfavorable for joyful events such as giving birth and getting married.

As elsewhere in China, marriage registration offices in Shenzhen have been extremely busy since December.

"We received an average of 140 couples every day last month and registrations reached a peak of 170 couples Dec. 24," said Zheng Li from the Shenzhen Nanshan District Civil Affairs Bureau.

According to the marriage registration office under the Shenzhen Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau, the number of couples registered in December was more than twice the number for the same period in 2003. Almost 90 percent of the newlyweds said they chose to register at the time only because there was no Beginning of Spring in the coming lunar calendar.

The special lunar cycle of 2005 not only affects many Chinese couples in deciding to marry ahead of the Spring Festival but has also had an effect on Chinese-foreign marriages.

"Around 40 percent of international couples registering last month chose the date for this reason. The majority of them coupled husbands from Western countries such as America, Germany and Australia," said a source from the Shenzhen Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau.

The city's restaurants are benefiting from the wedding frenzy. Couples have to reserve wedding banquets six months in advance. "We have so far received more than 50 couples from the beginning of December," said a Mr. Li who is in charge of grand banquet receptions for a city restaurant.

There are still lots of young couples waiting to register, but experts advise the new couples to be more clear-minded about marriage registrations.

"People tend to follow suit in the wedding wave, which is quite irrational. Marriage happiness lies in solid love and affection and has nothing to do with the date of registration," said Yi Songguo, director of the Social Science Department at Shenzhen University.

A year without the Beginning of Spring (during the Spring Festival) is just a normal phenomenon of the lunar calendar and there is no scientific proof of its correlation to the start of an unhappy marriage. The most important is to keep a correct attitude towards life, and the destiny of marriage is up to the joint efforts of husband and wife.

Editor: Catherine