RICHMOND, Va. -- A birthday toast years in the making for Carolyn McCrea at Brambly Park in Richmond on Tuesday. This year, her birthday celebration fell on a calendar quirk that will not happen again for a century: 02/22/22.
“I was born at 2:22 pm on 2/22. So, when we found out that it was going to be 2-22 of 2022 and on a Tuesday, I said we need to go big or go home,” McCrea said. “We all took a little time off of work, we all got to hang out and celebrate. It feels like a little bit back to normal, I guess.”
“Twos-Day,” as it was dubbed was celebrated in various ways across Central Virginia. McCrea pointed out Tuesday was a two-fer of “national holidays.”
“The only thing I regret about today is that I didn’t do tacos and margaritas because it’s Taco Tuesday and it's National Margarita Day. I feel like I really missed an opportunity,” she said.
At Harvie Elementary in Henrico, students and teachers wore tutus, tiaras, and ties all day long in honor of the oddity of the calendar.
“Can everyone say happy Twos-Day?” a teacher said.
“Happy Twos-Day!” a group of students retorted.
At the Cabell Library at VCU, students and staff passing by a whiteboard were encouraged to write down two good things that have happened to them recently. People wrote about getting into graduate school and adopting a puppy.
“I started a new job and I have a new nephew on the way,” one library worker wrote.
As of the “Twos-Day holiday,” Dr. Catherine Franssen, a neuroscientist at the Science Museum of Virginia, said the day only falls a quirk in the Gregorian calendar, but she said the reason it stands out is instinctual to our brains, which are drawn to noticeable patterns of a reason.
“Humans look for patterns. Humans are pattern recognizers. It makes us excellent at doing lots of things,” Dr. Franssen said. “Look out at a large amount of data and pick out the anomalies, the strange interesting things. Our ancestors looked out at the savannah and could pick out predators that might come attack us.”
“The way that we count days, months, years is all just a way of us organizing information through patterns,” she continued.
For Johnny and Jessica Mitchell, February 22, 2022, will serve as a special day of organizing. The couple got married in front of the Science Museum and began the ceremony at 2:22 pm.
“Above all, we celebrate strength and courage, and that you two have come together to love one another in an eternal and boundless way,” the pastor said. “I now introduce for to the world for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Edward Mitchell II!”
The beaming couple cheered on the calendar quirk they won’t soon forget.
