Bungie Day is the unofficial celebration of all things Bungie. It includes the Halo and Destiny franchises, as well as fan creations, communities, and the relationships made through Bungie games. The founding of the holiday on July 7, 2007 also commemorates Bungie’s obsession with the number seven, which can be seen throughout their company’s history.
What’s Up With Seven?
Looking through Bungie’s work, the number seven appears several times. In the Halo franchise alone, the number seven can be found anywhere from Master Chief’s name (John-117) to the M6D pistol’s ejection port, which has the Chinese/Japanese character for seven faintly etched onto it.
In the Destiny franchise, 777 can be found near the hem of the Memory of Cayde cloak. The cloak is a tribute to Cayde-6 and has a single spade on it, which could reference the Ace of Spades. Add the six in Cayde-6 to the number one Ace represents and you get seven, Bungie’s favorite number.
Bungie itself has a 7-step Plan for World Domination, which as of now is only one step away from completion, and their fan club is called the 7th Column. Is there any reason Bungie loves this prime number? Fans have come up with a few theories.
Biblical References
Some have speculated that Bungie’s fascination with the number seven stems from the Bible. Seven appears as a significant number throughout the Bible, most notably in the Catholic belief that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. Biblical connections could be supported by the fact that John-117 contains a biblical name and may be a reference to the verse, John 1:17. Both the Halo and Destiny franchises have religious overtones as well, which further supports this fan theory.
Non-Christian Significance
The number seven is significant in many non-Christian and non-Western cultures as well. In the Qur’an, there are seven gates of hell and seven heavens, the latter of which is a belief Judaism shares. Seven deities are associated with good fortune in Japan, and the number seven is significant throughout the story of the Buddha. Seven also frequently appears as an important number in poetry, riddles, scripture, and rhymes.
Apophenia
Apophenia is the tendency to make connections and assign meaning between unrelated things. Bungie has never confirmed nor denied any fan theories on why they have an unhealthy obsession with the number seven, so they could simply be memeing us and themselves at this point.
On the other hand, the number seven has been used to convey meaning throughout human history. Rather than referencing something specific, it’s more likely Bungie just appreciates the number for its hallowed place in the human consciousness.
Regardless, Destiny 2 fans have a reason to celebrate today. Bungie is currently holding a Destiny 2 fashion contest and art show on Twitter, the winners of which will receive in-game prizes.
