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.