If you’ve ever been to a traditional Greek Wedding, then you’ll know that there’s plenty of dancing, hundreds of guests, very loud laughter and so much food!
But if you’re marrying a Greek Groom or heading to a Greek Wedding in the future, you should expect that the couple will be spat on.
This practice was popularized thanks to the 2002 film, My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Spitting in Greek cultures is a kind
of good luck charm that is supposed to help ward off the devil. Today, the custom typically doesn’t involve guests hocking loogies at the newlywed bride. Instead, it has evolved into a more symbolic act where guests mainly forcefully utter “ftou ftou ftou.”
Greeks do this at other special occasions too, including baptisms in order to acknowledge the beauty and good health of the baby. Spitting can even be done as a superstitious measure to ward off evil during regular conversation. This is generally done three times for greater luck.
One thing that you need to know about a Greek Wedding is that it’s not only a celebration of two people becoming one, but it’s also a family reunion! An average Greek Wedding has between 300-400 gues
ts and most of the time, they’re all related in some way, shape or form!
The making of the bed involves the couple’s friends and family coming over to help prepare the bed of their new home, and “lucky” items like rice, coins, and money are thrown onto the bed for a happy and prosperous life. A young child or baby then rolls around on the bed to ensure fertility. Although, many Modern Greek weddings don’t really practice this as much, it still exists.
