site.btaA Special Day: Why More People than Usual Are Getting Married on February 22, 2022

Over 80 weddings have been scheduled in Sofia for Tuеsday, February 22, 2022, which is more than half of all weddings in the city since the start of 2022, one of Sofia's six municipal wedding centres told BTA. The date is considered special by many as it reads the same backwards as forwards, which is believed to have a deep meaning.

Just to give you an idea of the increase, there were 10 weddings in Sofia on January 21, 2021, 16 on February 21, 2021 three on February 2, 2021 and six on February 22, 2021.   

This particular Sofia wedding centre will work overtime to accommodate the higher than usual number of happy couples on Tuesday.

Over 200 weddings have been planned for February 22 across the country. 
 
Wedding service staff say that not only is the number of weddings higher than usual but they have also been attracting a lot of media attention ahead of this Tuesday.

Getting married on a so-called ''palindrome- date'' has definitely been a trend in recent years. It began somewhere around 2005-2006 and the most popular such date so far has been July 7, 2007, say wedding service staff. 

Many people choose such a date because they like its uniqueness, because they believe in its significance, or trust that it will bring them luck. 

The date February 22, 2022 is special and one of its kind, according to numerologists,  as it marks the end of the ''222'' sequence in this century, which started back in 2000.  February 2022 had three such dates - February 2, 2022, February 20, 2022 and February 22, 2022. 

Those who delve in numerology - which is quite popular in Bulgaria along with astrology - choose to hold special events on such dates specifically because of the deeper meaning of the specific numbers. In this case, the importance is in the so-called ''angel number two'', which is connected to divine life purpose, and may represent trust, faith and love, numerologists explain. 

In 2020, out of a total of 22,172 civil weddings, some 4,669 were conducted in Sofia, according to the National Statistical Institute data.  In 2021 the number of weddings in the capital reportedly was a little over 5,000, but the exact number is not clear yet as the reports are yet to be finalized. In 2019, Sofianites held nearly 5,900 weddings. The total wedding bookings in Sofia in 2022 so far has been 156. 

The number of weddings has declined since the pandemic began in 2020, because of anti-epidemic restrictions, including those prohibiting gatherings of large groups of people. 

The few weddings that are being held nonetheless are small parties with only the closest family and friends in attendance. Many more choose to postpone their wedding in hope of better times for partying.