The hilarious reason of why a period is called大姨妈 will make you laugh out loud

Last Updated on 2016-05-19 , 1:37 pm

Have you ever wondered why a period is called 大姨妈? Don’t worry, we wonder too. And we’ve decided to solve the mystery once and for all.

After doing some research, we found that there is no concrete answer to the question. Much like why pillow is called a pillow, why a cup is called a cup. But here are some theories.

You cannot call it 大姨爹
We’ve all heard of the term Aunt Flo and we just cannot call it Uncle Flo right? Like, it’s just not right. Uncle Flo sounds like a big bellied old man with a huge mustache and small marble sizes eyes who’s favorite past time is sitting at the bottom of a stairwell to look up a girl’s skirt. And maybe take some photos.

It originated from a movie
The term 大姨妈 was first documented in a Hongkong movie. Whether that movie is the origin, we’re not sure, but it is possible. Movies are known to create cultures. Just like that despicable movie that filled the toy shop with yellow gibberish speaking nonsense otherwise known as Minions.

That girl
Long long time ago, in a place far far away, a girl was using the toilet when her first period came. When she looked into the toilet bowl, she had a big shock, and thought she was dying. So she went ”咦??”(Eeee?) with shock then screamed for her mom, “妈!!!”(Mom!). Hence 大姨妈. The Big eeee? Mom!!!

It’s resemblance to your aunt
In Chinese they call it 大姨妈, while in English they call it Aunt Flo. Why the connection to Aunt in both cases, especially when the western and eastern culture vary so much? We believe it is no coincidence. Let us take a look at the two things.
Your aunt is irritating, and arrives without warning. She can come early, or late, or just don’t come at all if she doesn’t feel like it. And when she comes, she usually stays a couple of days and your freedom to do whatever you like is severely compromised during that period.
Your period is irritating, and arrives without warning. It can come early, or late, or just don’t come at all if it doesn’t feel like it. And when it comes, it usually stays a couple of days and your freedom to do whatever you like is severely compromised during that period.
Awful lot of similarities, if you ask me.

It might have been a translation
Alright, maybe the truth is, there is no fancy story or interesting reasons for the term 大姨妈. For all we know, it might just be a translation of the English term Aunt Flo. Flo sounds like Flow, like the Flow of the Blood, geddit? And this is why we think the Chinese copied the English and not the other way round.

But these are all just speculations, what do you think?

Top Image: Piotr Marcinski / Shutterstock.com