Couples rush to tie knot ahead of 'widow year'

Egged on by superstitious parents, hordes of couples are rushing to get married before the Spring Festival, which coincides with Valentine's Day, this year.

The Chinese lunar calendar divides a year into 24 periods (called "solar terms") that include a "Spring Commences" day, which the Chinese believe to be a time of Yang (masculine) energy.

But this year, the "Spring Commences" day falls tomorrow, before the Spring Festival. The next "Spring Commences" day also falls on Feb 4 - in 2011. To some people, this means the Year of Tiger does not have Yang energy.