By Lorie Hailey
www.lanereport.com editor
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 12, 2012) — Today’s is this century’s last repeating date, 12/12/12.
Many are celebrating the date, sending messages of Happy 12/12/12 on Facebook and other social media. But superstitious couples and numbers lovers from around the world are reveling in the once-in-a-lifetime event.
The number is significant in our culture: There are 12 hours of day and night, 12 months in the year in the Roman calendar, 12 signs of the Zodiac, 12 days of Christmas, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 gods of Olympus, and the list goes on and on.
Today is the last triple date until January 1, 2101. It is possibly the last chance for couples to tie the knot on an easy-to-remember wedding date. (Unless you count 11/12/13, which has already been claimed by many brides.)
At the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel, couples have 40 different 12/12/12 wedding packages to choose from, according to CNN. Six of those options include an Elvis impersonator. Others include pirate, gangster and gothic themes.
From midnight to midnight, more than 100 couples will walk or ride down the aisle at Viva Las Vegas, according to general manager Brian Mills, who doubles as an Elvis impersonator and spoke to CNN.
In Fort Myers Beach in Florida, the “wedding event of the century” took place at 12:12 p.m. Couples can get married for $250 a head, or $500 each if they wanted to do it on the stroke of 12:12 p.m. It isn’t a mass wedding, the organizers say; each marriage ceremony will be conducted individually. The event is expected to break a world record for most marriages in a single day, however.
Pope Benedict XVI sent his first official tweet to the world today. CNN says it is unclear whether the pope chose 12/12/12 for the digits or for some other reason. But more than 600,000 followers waited to see what message @Pontifex would offer in 140 characters or less.
What did the pope say in his first Tweet? “Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart.” Later, he posed the question, “How can we celebrate the Year of Faith better in our daily lives?” By 12:30, the pope had sent seven Tweets to his followers, which had grown to 850,000 people.
A survey conducted by David’s Bridal estimates that around 7,500 brides will be getting hitched in America today. That’s a 1,446 per cent increase from the less significant 12/12/11.
Iconic dates have become a wedding trend in the U.S., reaching new heights when over 65,000 couples tied the knot on 7-7-07, said Brian Beitler, chief marketing officer for David’s Bridal.
Many consider 12/12/12 a lucky date
In Asian countries, where 12 is almost as lucky a number as 11, expectant mothers have once again booked themselves in for C-sections to ensure a fortuitous birth date for their progeny. According to numerology, anyone born on the 12th will be highly imaginative, quick-witted and artistic.
Professional numerologists say 12/12/12 is more than just a neat repetition of digits or a lucky day for lovers, CNN reports. It is a great day to start a new business venture or make a significant purchase, Indian numerologist Swetta Jumaani told CNN.
The number 12 is considered a “three” number because the digits add up to three, according to numerology. Three is a very good number because it corresponds with the largest planet, Jupiter, in addition to wealth.
It is a great day to make investments, Jumaani said.
“If you want to buy something — property, if you want to buy gold — it’d be a good day,” he told CNN. But don’t wear black — it is bad luck, she said.
According to Chinese numerology, the number one is a yang number which is ruled by the sun and represents independence and individualism. Two is a yin number which is ruled by the moon and represents symmetry and balance. When placed together, the number 12 brings harmony to the yin and yang, balancing the feminine energy of the moon with the masculine energy of the sun, according to the website RT.com.
12/12/12 Concert for Sandy Relief
Tonight also is the 12/12/12 Concert for Sandy Relief to Benefit the Robin Hood Relief Fund at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It will feature Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, Alicia Keys, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Kanye West, The Who, Paul McCartney and more.
[pullquote_right]Who are you most excited to hear tonight at the 12/12/12 concert? Tweet @loriehailey with your choice.[/pullquote_right]
Paul McCartney is reuniting surviving members of Nirvana for the benefit concert. Nirvana survivors Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Pat Smear will be playing together as a band again — with McCartney. But they won’t be playing Nirvana songs, according to Entertainment Weekly.
McCartney will be debuting a new song that he and Grohl have been secretly working on in the studio. As McCartney told the British Sun, he rang Grohl up one day and invited him to “jam with some mates.”
Fun facts about 12/12/12 from RT.com
♦ December 12, 2012, is exactly six years, six months and six days from June 6, 2006, or 06/06/06.
♦ Many doomsdayers believe 12/12/12 will be the end of the world, thanks to an interpretation of the Mayan calendar. But, most of the end-of-the-world believers are convinced the actual doomsday is on 12/21/12, when the Mayan calendar is set to end.
♦ In response to “end of the world” preparations taking place across the globe, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific has declared 12/12/12 “Anti-Doomsday Day,” in celebration of rational thinking and reasoned discourse.
♦ Palindrome lovers rejoiced in the fact that at 1:21:02 am, they could celebrate the second which marks a date-time combination which will be read the same both backwards and forwards. 2012-12-12 1:21:02 = 201212-1-212102. Those who wish to take part in yet another time-based phenomenon but were not awake at 1:21:02 were given a second chance. At 12:12:12 pm, the number 12 was given a “sixer” – 12/12/12 12:12:12.
♦ Number crunchers have a profound respect for the number 12, mainly because of its divisibility capabilities, RT says. It can divided into halves, thirds, fourths, sixths and twelfths.
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