#136 Rituals and Traditions with Author Eleni Gage

There are SO many cool examples of lucky symbols, tradition, and rituals in this episode, and Eleni’s book goes into detail about all of them...from burying a bottle of bourbon one month before the wedding, to tucking a penny in your shoe...there are plenty of ways to cross your fingers and wish on a star about your wedding day and DURING your wedding day. Fun stuff!

A novelist and journalist who spent three years as the Executive Editor at Martha Stewart Weddings Magazine, Eleni Gage was struck by the fact that every engaged couple wants the same thing: a meaningful, one-of-a-kind wedding and a lifetime of happiness. But so many of them don't know where to start when it comes to planning that unforgettable day and filling it with significance. Having earned a degree in Folklore and Mythology from Harvard University, she decided to change that by writing Lucky in Love: Traditions, Customs, & Rituals to Personalize Your Wedding. A collection of cross-cultural connections from all over the world that focus on bringing luck to couples getting married, it's also a guide to planning a day that is unique, auspicious and utterly personal in the best way possible. Or, as Eleni likes to say, "A wedding is equal parts planning and magic. There are plenty of books devoted to the planning. This one brings the magic." She's joining us from New York, where she lives with her Nicaraguan husband—whom she married in not one but two ceremonies on the Greek island of Corfu on 10.10.10—and their two Greekaraguan children.

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Big Takeaways

Eleni grew up in a big Greek family and incorporated a lot of those traditions into her own Big Fat Greek Wedding. She studied folklore in college and learned that most rituals in life happen around transitions...life changes, when there is a lot at stake. We develop rituals to help us think we have control over things we don’t have control over. No matter what religion you are, everyone believes in LUCK, to some extent! At the very least, no one embraces bad luck, so a wish for good luck is just natural.

It’s more than just ‘Something Borrowed, Something Blue, Something Old, Something New’ - but this is a fun little rhyme that everyone seems to know about (for good luck in the marriage), at least in America. What’s the background of it? It’s an old English rhyme and it represents the past, the future, the community and then blue is a symbol of fidelity and it’s also a religious color. Also, the rhyme continues to say ‘And a sixpence in her shoe’ so brides would put a penny in their shoes for fortune and financial security.

Colors! There’s a whole chapter dedicated to color in the book and it was one of our favorites.

Links we referenced

Buy the book! https://www.amazon.com/Lucky-Love-Traditions-Customs-Personalize/dp/0525573909/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=eleni+gage&qid=1554245442&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Eleni’s site: https://elenigage.com

More Labs, Morning Recovery: https://www.morelabs.com/pages/the-big-wedding-planning-podcast

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