It’s a date her parents have been talking about ever since she could remember.
Born in 2000, Anna Prata Tavares, of New York City, will turn 22 on 2-22-22 and will make two birthday wishes at 2:22 p.m. (22:22 in military time) while listening to Taylor Swift’s “22.”
“I thought about what to do on this day for a long time,” she says.
Of course 2-22-22 falls on a Tuesday, which has many calling it “twosday,” instead.
With just a quick search online, the day known as Taco Tuesday is now Taco Twosday (yes, there’s even an Etsy market for that), and even teachers are marking the day “Teaching on Twosday,” as seen on T-shirts for sale on Facebook.
So why all this fuss about the number two?
Here’s a quirky fact for those who like twos. Temple University enrolled 35 sets of twins in 2018 who will graduate from the Philadelphia school this year.
If you put any stock in numbers, according to numerology.com, the number two — aka the number of duality — represents harmony.
In other words, 2-22-22 will focus on teamwork rather than conflict, they say.
So, in honor of two-day, we spoke with identical twins and couples getting married, all celebrating 2-22-22, two-gether.
Twice upon a time
Take it from the reality stars and twins who married two twins — the best things in life come in pairs.
The couples also had quaternary twins, which are babies born to twins and who are first cousins and share DNA hard to distinguish from that of siblings.
That’s why Jeremy, Josh, Brittany, Briana Salyers are planning something “epic” on 2-22-22.
Identical twin sisters, Brittany and Briana, met identical twin brothers, Josh and Jeremy, in 2017 at the annual Twins Day Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio.
“When we got home from the festival, it was not long before Josh and Jeremy drove from an entirely other state to see us. The rest is (a double) history,” Brittany and Briana, who grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, recall.
The brothers proposed to them at the same time a year later and they got married (where they met) in a double wedding.
Double vision:Wilmington twin sisters accept proposal from twin brothers
Nope, it’s not two much: Identical twin ministers officiated the wedding ceremony themed “Twice Upon a Time,” and it was featured on TLC in 2019. (they were also were featured on the network’s show, “Extreme Sisters.”)
The song “It Takes Two” by Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston played on their wedding day while a procession of twin-friends marched down the aisle — in pairs, of course.
The couples are parents to quaternary twin baby boys, Jett and Jax.
“I have noticed that Jett and Jax seem to have their own secret language, just as Brittany and I had when we were little. Josh and Jeremy had their own secret language too,” Briana says.
“Yesterday, Jett and Jax were in their play-pen together and Jett babbled something to Jax that was totally incoherent to anyone else, but Jax immediately understood and started laughing. Then he babbled a response back to Jett and they both cracked up laughing.”
The Salyers share a home and bought a wedding venue near Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia.
Being in ‘twos’ improves their happiness. A dreaded chore alone becomes much more manageable when you do it in twos, they say.
Two of a kind
The Salyers are not the only ones sharing a bond of being born with a “other half.”
“Two-night” identical twins Brielle and Shayla Brown will mark Twosday in a big way by celebrating with fellow twin friends.
“It’s nice because they know our perspective,” Shayla says.
The Study Buddy Box co-founders who live together in Erie, Pennsylvania, with their pup, Elvis, say 2-22-22 may not be an official holiday for twins, but it’s still remarkable. (Their business offers a monthly subscription box for college students that is filled with school supplies, dorm games, snacks and accessories.)
“Not only us, but I feel a lot of twins will be out that day having a fun time since it is 2-22,” Brielle says.
While other sisters may be close, being a twin all but guarantees you won’t be lonely.
“The greatest thing about being a twin is that you always have a friend,” Brielle says. “I know that sounds a bit cliché but we live together, we’re very close and the best of friends, and I always have somebody. I’m never alone. We don’t take that for granted. We know we’re lucky to have each other.”
While these twins don’t offer any tales of playing tricks on friends, their identical appearance does occasionally have people doing double takes.
“There was this one time where I had class with this guy and the next class he had one with Shayla,” Brielle recalls. “He came up to me one day and asked, ‘I always wondered how do you change (clothes) so fast and get to class before me. He thought I was Shayla. It happens a lot.”
Class of ’22
Double majoring in psychology and Eastern Asian studies, Prata Taveras will graduate from Mount Holyoke College in — yep, you guessed it — May 2022.
“China and Korea have a strong belief, whether people actually believe it or casually believe it, in lucky and unlucky numbers and 2-2-2 is an angel number,” she says.
While today, she’ll have a quiet birthday dinner with her parents, who traveled from the Big Apple to visit her at school in Hadley, Massachusetts, the commencement of all things two will last all year.
You might say her distance from other loved ones is “two bad.”
“It’s hard. I wish I was with all the people I love today, but I’m at school.”
They Two!
Instead of “I Do,” Annalisa Klein and Jason Moritz will say “I Two” when they walk down the aisle on 2-22-22.
The couple, who got engaged last Valentine’s Day, were hoping to elope to Thailand, but because of the pandemic decided to marry in the courthouse in Salem, New Jersey.
“It’s going to be very small, just us, our witnesses, and the mayor of our city, Jody Veler, is going to officiate,” Klein said.
Of the date, Klein says, it’s quirky, but kinda cool.
“I think that’s really special, It’s repetitive and recognizable,” she said. “We’re getting married on the ultimate Tuesday, that’s what we’re going to refer to it as,” she says. “I think that repeating numbers are always special because there will never be another 2-22-22 on a Tuesday, It’s an absurdity and miracle of chaos.”
And the couple are not the only ones tying the knot on Feb. 22.
When they went to get their COVID-19 booster shots, they met a woman who also was getting hitched on the rare date.
Makes sense, right, if you believe in numerology as few things are more important in marriage than harmony.
In fact, according to Zola, a popular wedding registry site, it’s the most popular day to get hitched this month, beating out Valentine’s Day.
“I think that couples really want to have a memorable date and 2-22-22 is once in a lifetime date for a once in a lifetime moment,” Emily Forrest, director of communications for Zola, said. “For a lot of couples that chose this date, they probably were already thinking of having a weekday wedding and maybe wanted to have a winter wedding as well.”
In fact “magic dates” involving twos seem to be a wedding trend in 2022.
“The most popular date this year is 10-22-22 and 11-12-22,” Forrest says. “However, 2-22 is the most popular date in the entire month of February — even more popular than Feb. 26, which is the Saturday following.”
Should you put your money on the twos?
Deuces are up in Las Vegas on Twosday with Zola reporting Sin City as the No. 1 wedding destination, with the second being Honolulu, Hawaii.
“I think on March 3, 3033, you’ll see some of the same,” Klein adds.
As for the twos on the cards and the gaming tables, we’ll leave that to you.
And for Annalisa Klein, there is a very practical side to choosing this momentous date.
“But between me and Jason, I’m the one who has the problem remembering dates,” she says. “Getting married on 2-22-22 will definitely help me 10 years down the road.”
Micaela Hood is a features reporter with the Pocono Record and the USA TODAY Mid-Atlantic Region features team. Reach her at mhood@gannett.com
