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Eleni Gage

Author, Journalist, Pop Folklorist

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The Liminal Stage

Navigating a modern world with the help of time-tested traditions

What is a Liminal Stage?

Liminal stages are psychological thresholds, times of transition when we stand “betwixt and between” one state and another. The biggies are birth, marriage, death-cultures develop splashy rituals around these transitions to ease the anxiety they provoke. For the smaller, but significant, crossroads we traverse every day, I offer the celebrations, superstitions, and coping mechanisms found in this blog.

Love Snacks

Shakespeare wrote that music may be the food of love. Assuming he really existed as one person, he was smart and prolific, so I’m sure he knows whereof he speaks. But I’d like to make a case for actual food being what nourishes love, especially in its liminal stages. I’m not talking about aphrodisiacs, foods…

Read more about Love Snacks

The Polish Principle

Due to a variety of circumstances beyond my control (or so I tell myself), I haven’t had a mani-pedi in six months. Half a year. If you’re currently recoiling in horror, don’t judge, this could be you, too, someday. To everyone else, I know this may not seem like a long time–my mother hates people…

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Quiet Time, Getting Crazy, and Psychic Reboots

There is a lot going on in the world this week, and it’s all very “turn, turn, turn,” to quote the Book of Ecclesiastes (and, later, Pete Seeger, and even later, the Byrds). The verse reminds us that to everything there is a season. And because Orthodox Easter and Western Easter are the same this…

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Betwixt and Between

Last Saturday was one of five Saturdays of Souls in the Orthodox Church–days that are set aside to pray for and remember the deceased. I love the idea of having days dedicated to thinking about and communing with loved ones who have passed on to a world beyond this one. It reminds me of a…

Read more about Betwixt and Between

Kalo Mina!

That means “Good Month!” in Greek and it’s what people say to each other on the first of every month, to invite luck for the 30 or so days to come. When I lived in Greece I loved it that every shopgirl (that’s a sexist word but I can’t think of the equivalent–Retail Attendant?) or…

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The Father of our Cocktail

Yesterday, in a shining example of ritualistic synchronicity, our nation celebrated both George Washington’s birthday and National Margarita Day. An able Revolutionary War general and America’s first president, George Washington is often referred to as the Father of our country. A tart mix of lime juice (and, often, other fruit juices), and tequila, the margarita…

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Eleni Gage

About Eleni

The daughter of a Greek father and a Minnesotan mother. I grew up in Athens, Greece, and the suburbs of Worcester, Massachusetts—
and became obsessed with cultural rituals and traditions along the way.

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Lucky in Love

is a guide to planning a wedding that’s unique, meaningful, and, above all, auspicious, with the help of customs from all over the world

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Travel Writing

I love covering places that inspire me—from Greece to Nicaragua and everywhere in between—for outlets such as Travel+Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, InStyle and more. Join me on my trips here.

 

Essays and Reviews

From parenting to politics to pop culture, I’ve got opinions —and I’m not afraid to share them in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. Learn why I’m a bad mom here.

Lifestyle Articles

I may not always live my best life, but I’m trying to live a better one! I enjoy learning from the experts when writing about everything from reading more to wasting less. Pick up some tips here.

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