As the name suggests, Singles' Day began as a day for single people - apparently¹ a chance to celebrate for the singletons, or "bare sticks", symbolised by the four number ones in the date of 11 November - 11/11.

顾名思义，光棍节是一个献给单身者的节日——显然这是一个单身者，或称“光棍”相互庆贺的日子，11月11日这个日期的四个数字就象征着光棍们。

But in 2009 the online retail² firm Alibaba adopted the day to promote a massive online shopping sale. It said the date was easy to remember, and conveniently placed in a consumer spending lull³ between National Day and Chinese New Year holiday.

然而在2009年事情发生了变化，在线零售公司阿里巴巴开始利用这个日子举行大型的网购促销活动。据说这个日期很容易被人们记住，而且恰好又正处在国庆黄金周和中国新年假期之间的销售淡季，正好可以刺激销售。

Singles' Day rapidly became a hit. Other online retailers⁴ began cashing in, and Alibaba copyrighted the term "Double 11".

光棍节很快就成为热门话题，其他的在线零售商也开始从中分羹，阿里巴巴为“双十一”这个称谓申请了版权。

It says that since 2009, year-on-year sales of Alibaba growth has averaged 640%.

据说自2009年来，该公司的营业额的年比增长率平均高达640%。

And with a total population of 1.3 billion people, there's still plenty of room for growth.But Alibaba also has global aspirations⁵. It says more than 200 overseas merchants from more than 20 countries had confirmed participation⁶ in its Singles' Day sales this year, with multinational⁷ brands taking part in the "11.11 shopping festival" for the first time.

中国有13亿人口，网购营业额还有充足的上升空间。不过阿里巴巴可是有国际野心的哟。据称已经有来自全球20多个国家超过200个海外电商承诺参加今年双十一的促销活动，许多品牌是第一次参与“双十一狂欢节”。

Even in China, however, Singles' Day has begun to draw some criticism.

不过，即使就在中国，双十一也已经开始引起了不少质疑之声。

Another user complained: "I don't know why people are so excited about the 'Double 11'. It's meaningless as they all hike prices before offering a discount."

还有网友吐槽道：“我不明白人们为什么对‘双十一’如此热切，这一点意义也没有，因为所有的电商都是先把价格暴涨起来，再提供优惠折扣的。