A blessed and joyous 2017 to you, your family, and loved ones!  The past 6 months have been chock-full of new beginnings, with the start of a graduate program in Expressive Arts Therapies and Licensed Mental Health Counseling, as well as many wedding ceremonies, family events, holidays and gatherings.  My resolution this year is to post once every week, with information relating to wedding traditions, special pieces to consider for your ceremony, as well as interesting tidbits and fun facts.

Here's to an informative and amazing 2017!

"See a penny, pick it up... All day long, you'll have good luck."

Do you remember that saying from when you were a child?  Well, if you see one of these copper beauties today, definitely stop to pick it up, for today, we celebrate
National Lucky Penny Day! 

While no one seems to know the origin of imbuing the penny with "good luck," the penny is quite the historic gem, today's one-cent piece having been modeled on the ancient Roman denarius.  The penny was first introduced in England in 757 A.D. and the coin made its way over to America with the first settlers.  The first pennies as we have come to know them today were minted in the United States in 1793 and were made from the plentiful metal at the time, copper.

While pennies are not 'worth' the same as they might have been over 200 years ago, many people still collect these gems in coffee cans, banks, and change jars.  They may only be 0.01, but after a while, the numbers begin to add up!  Take this National Lucky Penny Day to impart the value of currency to your children; donate your pennies to a charitable organization or the homeless population or the needy or the sick.  Go on a 'treasure hunt' and try to find as many pennies as you can today (use the #LuckyPennyDay on social media to record your findings).  What other symbols, totems, memories, etc. give you the sensation of luck?  Of feeling lucky?

I'm Irish… and on this St. Patrick's Day, I would like to wish everyone bright and joyous tidings with a traditional Irish blessing (coincidentally, it is the closing to an upcoming wedding ceremony I am officiating on March 20th).  

That statement is true in every day, in every way, we are receiving a blessing by being alive for another day.  There are so many wonderful things in the world to be thankful for - and now, we have different "holidays" to  celebrate and commemorate the plethora of wonders in our world.  

You may have heard of Administrative Professionals Day (April 22nd), Sweetest Day (October 17th) or the wonderfully decadent National Donut Day (June 5th).  But did you know that every day has a significance?  

For instance, today, February 5th is National Weatherperson's Day.  Today we honor all the weathermen and weatherwomen who work hard to predict the fickleness of Mother Nature.  Knowing the weather patterns, even if not always 100% accurate, can assist with emergencies, evacuations, and, in my line of work, whether ceremonies occur outdoors or indoors.  It affects travel, how we dress, and, in extreme circumstances, it can save lives (much as it did when Winter Storm Juno hit the Northeast at the end of January - by knowing the pattern and weather predictions, government officials were able to institute travel bans and keep people off the roads in hazardous conditions).  


According to The Air Force News, Weatherman's Day "commemorates the birth of John Jeffries, one of America's first weathermen."  John Jeffries was born on February 5th, 1744 and he kept weather records from 1774 to 1816.