"San Ba"

March 8th is International Woman's Day and an official holiday in China - for women only, and most women are given at least half the day off. Wikipedia will tell you that the holiday was originally known as International Working Woman's Day and was started by American socialists in 1909 - who knew?

These three gals work at the local spa down the street from us in Zhongshan, and to celebrate the day, Say-Yen and I went over and spent some quality time with them in their very stylish shop. The only thing better than their highly professional massage and facial treatments is their sincere appreciation and delight when we arrive - I couldn't think of a better place to celebrate being a working woman than with these talented, warm and welcoming women!

The first time I got an email from a female colleague in Fuzhou saying "Happy Woman's Day," I was sure there was some miscommunication happening. Happy Mother's Day? No, that's in May. Was there a Hallmark Holiday in March beyond St. Patrick's Day that I had overlooked? Had I been completely oblivious to a holiday in my honor all these years? Or was this just a Chinese-English spell-check thing and she actually meant to say "Happy Wednesday"?

Truth is, despite being a working woman for many years, I never celebrated or even recognized the international holiday, one that, despite my unawareness, is very much acknowledged in China. So when the email arrived again this week, I was determined to get to the bottom of it! What I got was a bit more than what I expected.

Woman's Day falls on the eighth day of the third month (3/8 or 38.) The number 38 is pronounced in Mandarin "San Ba," literally Three Eight. Yes, the holiday has been recognized for several generations, and yes, it's original intent, as in other nations, was to recognize women in the workforce. But ironically, in China, over the course of many years, the term "San Ba" (once simply a reference to the date of Woman's Day) has also become a derogatory slang term attributed to a certain type of woman (a "nag," an "old biddy," a "gossipy broad"), definitely a far cry from what the founding fathers of the concept were after.

Who knows why certain terms evolve, sometimes even so far as to depict the exact opposite of their original intent, but the good news here is that it seems there's been some recent push back by women to re-appropriate, perhaps even redefine, the term - again! According to one recent blog devoted to Woman's Day in China this week, a contributor wrote, "One of the best things in life is to "san ba" with a group of chatty "san ba-ers!"

So, although I, like many women, love any excuse to receive flowers and candy, I'll secretly hold out hope that women in China will one day enjoy celebrating Woman's Day everyday and there will be little need for special recognition. In the meantime, I would suggest they pick a date to send their favorite guy a nice pair of socks and sign it, "Happy Man's Day from your dearest San Ba!"