Many Bavarian couples are preparing for their wedding before the Schnapszahl dates of February 2, 2022 and February 22, 2022. “There was a great rush to these appointments,” said the city of Würzburg. The two days have long been fully booked in the city, Schnapszahl dates are always very popular with those who want to marry.
Demand is also high in other major Bavarian cities. “I think it’s just in human nature: Schnaps numbers are easy to remember, they are something special and are therefore often chosen as long as it fits with the rest of the planning,” said Svenja Schirk from the Association of German Wedding Planners in Berlin. They are often interesting for couples who do not choose a fixed date such as the day they get to know each other.
At least 68 couples want to tie the knot in Nuremberg, Munich, Augsburg, Regensburg and Würzburg on February 2nd, 62 couples on February 22nd – more than two and a half times as many as the daily average for 2021 in the five cities . And there are still a few dates available in Nuremberg and Regensburg. In the two cities, as in Munich, for example, the registry offices offer more appointments than usual on the days.
In some cases, the registry offices are freeing up new dates
So you can get married in Nuremberg on the 22nd not only in the wedding hall, but also in the Tucherschloss. A few new appointments have been made possible, but the days are not too much of a challenge for the registrars, said the spokeswoman for the city of Regensburg, Juliane von Roenne-Styra. “The newlyweds can finally remember their wedding day.”
For the officials it is “business as usual”. Many couples may want to “take” the spectacular date and not celebrate it or only celebrate it later: You can imagine that the date would be particularly popular with couples who married purely in a civil ceremony, said Schirk from the Wedding Planner Association. The industry is planning weddings with celebrations in particular. For example, on February 22, no rush could be seen.
Many weddings have been postponed during the pandemic
The number of weddings had decreased during the pandemic: in Nuremberg, Munich, Augsburg and Regensburg around 8150 couples married in 2021 and around 8300 couples in 2020 – in 2019 there were more than 9800. In the months from April 2021, demand will still be below the figures for the years before Corona, said von Roenne-Styra from Regensburg. “However, many marriages are also registered at significantly shorter notice than in previous years.”
It should therefore remain a difficult time for all the caterers, photographers, bands and wedding planners who depend on it professionally: “Unfortunately, the wedding industry is still not doing well,” said Schirk from the Association of German Wedding Planners. Many service providers would have had to give up their operations, others feared for their existence. It was unclear how the aid – which unfortunately was generally insufficient – would be continued.
With the full spelling “22.02.2022” the day is a knot-free calendrical palindrome – so the number sequence reads backwards and forwards the same. The days are rare, in the 21st century there are only 29 in the format “DD.MM.YYYY”. Numerous generations could not experience a single one: After November 29th, 1192, number lovers had to wait more than 808 years for the next symmetrical date on February 10th, 2001. Romantics with a penchant for mathematics can look forward to a very special day in 19 years: With February 14th, 2041 there will be a palindrome that falls exactly on Valentine’s Day.