The Brief: November 11th, Singles' Day is a holiday dedicated to celebrating single people. In China, #SinglesDay is a popular self-care shopping holiday.

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Just as Valentine’s Day commercialized romantic love, Singles’ Day has managed to commodify the experience of being single. In China, Singles day or Guanggun Jie is a shopping holiday popular among single people in China. Singles’ Day is on November 11 because the date 11/11 features only ones, a reference to single people. On this holiday, people who are single or self-partnered are encouraged to spend money in the name of self-care and taking pride in their independence. Much like on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, many retailers and e-commerce platforms host large sales on November 11th.

Although it originated in and is most popular in China, #SinglesDay is celebrated internationally. However, it’s not to be confused with Singles Awareness Day (SAD), which is a sort of joke holiday celebrated on February 15th.

#SinglesDay 2019

This year, the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba reported a record of over $38 billion in sales, indicating that many people participated in this treat yo self holiday.

On social media, the hashtag #SinglesDay features many posts lamenting or celebrating being single, with many GIFs of Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” music video.

A great single-themed account to follow is the Instagram @NotEngaged, which document’s a single woman’s journey with her “unwed left hand.”