What did you do on 12:12:12?
Not
to be at least a little superstitious is to lack generosity of the mind – De Qunicy
I did not have a peaceful rest on the
night of December 11. Why? My neighbour was observing her church ordered vigil
to usher in good fortune that 12:12:12 supposedly brings. My neighbour was not
the only one that attached a lot of significance to that day. I did too. My
son’s birthday fell on that date and I have to celebrate with him on the joy of
seeing another year of his life. Many others in Nigeria and around the world
believed that the day is a day of luck and fortune. Thus, a lot of people
engaged in all manner of spiritual and remarkable deeds. While some organized prayer
sessions and musical concerts, some others chose the day to marry while yet other
people decided to forcefully gave birth to their babies on 121212. Let us take
a tour of how the day was celebrated around the world.
Starting with homeland Nigeria, in a
signed advertorial on Friday, December 7, Reverend (Dr) Musa Asake who is the
General Secretary of Christian Association of Nigeria called on all Christians
to organize prayer sessions at midday on 12:12:12. He quoted 1 Timothy 2: 1-2
which says “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions,
prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live
peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” to support the
clarion call. According to him “Come December 12th , 2012 at 12 noon
prompt, all Christians, nationwide are enjoined to set time aside to pray for
our beloved country Nigeria. This is the only country we have to call our own.
Enough of all these incessant bloodshed and killings. This special day being
the 12th day in the 12th month in the year 2012; is
memorable and special. Therefore, it must be put to good use. Prayer is the
only tool that never failed mankind. Families are enjoined to gather together
to pray at exactly 12 noon. Individuals who may find it difficult to fellowship
with their families, friends and loved ones should also set time aside to pray
at 12 midday. At the CAN level, each State Chapter is to coordinate her members
for a Special Prayer Session at noon.” To the best of my knowledge this call
for prayers was observed by many. It is indeed a good thing to pray for one’s
country particularly in this turbulent and insecure time. I do hope the good
Lord will restore peace unto our country.
Now to other parts of the world, in
order to mark the day, the 121212 concert was held at New York Madison Square
Garden to raise money for victims of Superstorm Sandy. What a noble gesture! Also,
my cousin in United States
decided to offer a 10 per cent discount for those who will register for his
bead making class scheduled for this month in Nigeria. A Nigerian national
newspaper, The Guardian in its world
report published on December 13 said that thousands of
couples in Asia flocked to the marriage registries to tie the knot on 12/12/12,
seeking good fortune for marriages begun on the century’s last repeating date.
Also, by the magic of numbers, a Norwegian boy celebrated a very special
occasion, feting his 12th birthday on December 12, 2012 –12/12/12 – at 12:12
pm, according to media report. The boy, Joergen Svendsen Killi, was born on
December 12, 2000 at 12:12 p.m., according to his birth certificate, a picture
of which was published on the site of tabloid Verdens Gang, promising him an unforgettable birthday 12 years
later.
The newspaper reported further that authorities in Hong Kong and
Singapore respectively said 696 and 540 couples were scheduled to attend
marriage registries, continuing a trend, which has seen couples flocking to
marry on 11/11/11 and 10/10/10 in both cities. News also indicated that the
figure is a near-fourfold increase compared to the daily average in the
self-governing Chinese city of Hong Kong, and about an eightfold spike for
non-Muslim weddings in Singapore, which is three-quarters ethnic Chinese.
Wait for this, couples also queued to marry in many Mainland
Chinese cities, on the basis that 12/12/12 sounded like “will love/will
love/will love” in Chinese, the official news agency Xinhua was quoted. In several Indonesian cities, mothers gave birth
early by Caesarian section so their offspring could have a lucky birth date.
The news-report added that the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur,
saw 289 couples taking part in a mass wedding at the Thean Hou Chinese Temple.
The National Registration Department said another 306 couples were married at
two of its offices near the capital, three times the normal number. At
Yogyakarta in Indonesia’s Central Java province 12 male sugar cane workers
paraded around town in 12 traditional wagons with their brides to mark the day.
In Singapore hundreds of couples and family members were reported
to have trooped in batches to the marriage registry despite pouring rain. One
couple in India were able to celebrate an even rarer set of special dates,
having got engaged on 10/10/10, held their registered legal marriage on
11/11/11 and finally had a big white wedding in Mumbai on 12/12/12. According
to French newswire, Agence France Presse,
the next time the same digits will appear in the date, month and year in the
same order will be in more than 88 years – on January 1, 2101, or 01/01/01.
I tried to do a little research into biblical numerology and found
out that Christians believe that numeral 1 is the number of Unity; 2 is the number
of Division; 3 represents Divine Perfection; 4 signifies Creation while
5 is the number of Grace. 6 is said to
be the number of Man; 7 is the number of Spiritual Perfection; 8 is the number
of New Beginnings; 9 is the number of Judgment while 10 is the number of Divine
Perfection. 12 is said to be the number of Governmental Perfection while 40
stands for number of Probation or Trial.
My friend, Obo Effanga in a facebook
post, has this to say about the day: “Face your life friends. There's NOTHING,
absolutely nothing about today's date 12/12/12. God did not create the present
dating system, humans did and God does not wait until any particular day to
bless you. People are simply so superstitious, vain and confused. The annoying
thing is when they try to cloak it under religion instead of numerology that it
is.” Well, that was his opinion which he has a right to just as those who believe
it carries some metaphysical significance are equally entitled to their
beliefs. Whatever you did on 12:12:12, I wish you best of luck and compliments
of the yuletide.
Comments
Post a Comment