ONE of the newest arrivals in Ongar could well be one of the luckiest – at least if astrologers are to be believed.
So auspicious is December 12, 2012, that expectant mothers in other parts of the world sought Caesarean sections in a bid to deliver their babies on exactly that day.
Which makes Oliver Tamalge even more special.
The full time and birth date of the baby boy, who weighed 7lb after a natural birth, reads 12.12pm on 12/12/12.
Happy couple Hannah MacLennan and Andrew Tamalge were not anticipating to have make the rush into Princess Alexandra Hospital until yesterday (Tuesday).
And even when the contractions started at around 10.30am, little could the couple, who have lived in Ongar all their lives, believe that their newest arrival was to have such a memorable start to his life.
Miss MacLennan, 34, an admin worker at an investment bank, and her husband, Andrew, 39, a partner at Crownlands Garage in Chelmsford Road, High Ongar, already have a three-year-old son, Jack.
Andrew said: "Apparently it's meant to be lucky to be born on that day.
"Hopefully what has been said about the date is all true and Oliver will have a very lucky and happy life.
"Obviously we are delighted to have another baby."
Hannah said: "To be honest I wasn't really thinking about the time and date of his birth when I was in hospital. I had other things to worry about at the time – like the pain.
"But looking back it is amazing that he has been born at that exact time."
The next time a child will have the chance to be born with a repeating string of numbers running through their birth time and date is in 89 years at 01.01am on 01/01/2101.
But the next time the lucky 12/12/12 date will come up will be in a hundred years – in the year 2112.
Many cultures believe that a baby born on the auspicious date will go on to lead a life of prosperity because the individual numbers add up to three – considered to represent the planet Jupiter.
But it is also thought to be a lucky day to be married.
US wedding dress company David's Bridal estimated that globally ten times as many couples got married this December 12 as compared to the same date last year.
