It ought not to be forgotten that before Ma came along, Nov 11 had already been commandeered to a cause, the plight－if that is the right word－of single people.

This shopping, it was rationalized, was a light-hearted once-a-year event that would distract them from their loneliness for a day. But whenever fun is in the air, you can always be sure that those who want to make a quick buck will not be far away. So Nov 11, not unlike Christmas in the West, has turned into a shopping frenzy almost devoid of any relationship to its origins.

One sinister element in this is that it has become so dominant that if you do not play the game, you are likely to be seen as slightly odd.

In fact, on Nov 11 and in the few days thereafter, "What did you buy?" seems to have become a new greeting. The funny thing is that nobody seems to really care about what you bought. As long as you show that you are part of the game, everyone is happy.

A cousin of mine in Shanghai who on Nov 11 spent more than 5,000 yuan, part of that being on an oven, told me that what she looks for on Nov 11 is "a sense of happiness, a shopping extravaganza, and something to talk about with my girlfriends".

"To be honest, I don't know if I will use the oven that often," she says.

I know of people who, like gamblers after a bad night at the casino, regret having spent so much on Nov 11 and self-mockingly say they ought to chop off their hands.

They never do, of course, and the following year, after some pre-sales finger twitching, those same hands are back at the keyboard searching for a soul-salving bargain.