Weddings, Births And More Mark 12-12-12 Around The World
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Wednesday was 12-12-12 and that meant thousands of couples around the country and around the world tied the knot on the once-a-century date.
At North Hempstead Town Hall, two couples got married at the crack of dawn with nearly a dozen scheduled throughout the day.
1010 WINS' Mona Rivera reports
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"The first wedding this morning was in the dark, the sun hadn't even come up yet, it was 6 a.m.," Town Clerk Leslie Gross said.
Katherine Nemecek and Bruce Rogers exchanged their vows during the noon hour, but Nemecek said getting this time and date wasn't easy.
"Bruce was the one who actually really planned this," she said. "He went all over -- all over Long Island to get this date for me, so definitely a good man."
According to Vicki MacKinnon, who practices numerology, today's date represents two energies merging, including masculine and feminine energies. MacKinnon said those kinds of energy are good news for couples planning to marry on 12-12-12.
In Las Vegas, land of the quickie wedding, MGM Resorts spokeswoman Yvette Monet said most of the six casino wedding chapels the company has along the strip were close to fully booked on Wednesday.
In Indonesia, 12 couples took part in a mass wedding ceremony to mark 12-12-12, while nearly 200 couples gathered for a mass wedding in Malaysia.
The lucky auspicious date -- predicted to bring good fortune, completeness, and harmony -- was filled with long-planned weddings and unexpected births.
Betsaina Angel Almonor surprised her parents on 12-12-12 -- coming into the world 12 days early.
"[It's] amazing," the baby's mother, Bettina Almonor, told CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan.
"She's so lucky. She's a lucky baby," said father Patrick Almonor.
The date 12-12-12 is the last of its kind when all three numbers in a day are the same for the next 88 years. It won't happen again until Jan. 1, 2101.
At a hospital in Jakarta, 12 babies were born by C-sections for mothers hoping a 12-12-12 birthdate will bring luck to their newborns.
But it's not just weddings and births. Many took advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime date in other ways.
In Connecticut, Foxwoods Resort Casino offered $12 in free slots play to rewards cards members who sink $12 into the slots.
Fans of some of music's biggest names will felt lucky to see them share a stage at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night.
The charity show for Superstorm Sandy victims has been dubbed the "12-12-12" concert and includes Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, Kanye West, Alicia Keys and Bon Jovi.
(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
