First we update on the phallic pottery of Portugal's Caldas Da Rainha. Our culture topic is [unraveling Saint Patrick's Day] and our nostalgia topic is [leprechauns in 90s-00s media]. For our mental health segment we discuss death by 1,000 paper cuts and balancing chaos with stability. 

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TikTok: @itscalledculture Instagram: @_itscalledculture 

References: The Incredible True Story of Ireland's Last Leprechauns

There's a lot to unpack here with country-specific wedding traditions from the UK, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Greece. Then we unravel the catholic church's unserious positions on love & marriage, discuss the cinematic masterpiece "The Two Popes", and end with a tech-savvy mental health segment.  

We dig back through marriage history and make some eye-opening discoveries. A bride pie contained WHAT?! A bundling board is for WHAT?! May is bad luck for weddings because of WHAT?! We're with you on this rollercoaster ride, for better or for worse.

Follow Us: 

TikTok: @melanncoley & @itscalledculture

Instagram: @_itscalledculture

References: 

7 Portuguese Wedding Traditions That Will Make The Romantic In You Swoon

St. James Magazine, London, 1871: Marriage Superstitions & Miseries of a Bride Elect

The Accomplisht Cook - The Whole Art and Mystery of Cookery, Robert May, 1660: Bride Pie

Mardi Gras! Fat Tuesday! Shrovetide! Pancake Tuesday! Carnival! Malassada Tuesday! Entrudo!  Of course there are an excess of names for a celebration of *excess*.  We've got the hilarious deets on the not-so-conventional ways that different countries celebrate this day.

Carnival Traditions in Portugal

The Weird Historic Traditions Around Pancake Tuesday in Ireland

Sin Cities and Saintly Sanctuaries

We discuss the three most forbidden words in Portuguese households: "I-love-you". Then we journey from the history of Saint Valentine all the way to The Satanic Temple in Salem, Massachusetts. We explore lovers' traditions around the world and end with a mental health segment on consumerism. You know, keeping it light!

References: 

Travel Triangle: 18 Valentine's Day Traditions Around the World

NPR: The Dark Origins of Valentine's Day

Babbel Magazine: 14 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Valentine's Day Traditions Around the World

We dig into the history of the Walt Disney World Company and its parks including: little-known incidents, Portugal getting snubbed out of EPCOT representation, and what it was like on Splash Mountain's final day of operation.

References:

Dark Side of Disney

A Brief History of Disney

We bring you three entirely separate incidents involving self-proclaimed "Sausage Kings" and murder. A fourth generation Portuguese-American Sausage King in California, a German immigrant Sausage King in Chicago, and a Russian Sausage King near Moscow, Russia. Plot twist, one of them is a victim not a perpetrator. Either way, if you ever see the words “Sausage King” in a profile on Bumble, swipe hard left.

Michelle DeMelo has put in more time and effort into our culture and its traditions than most people our age.  From her altar serving side hustle as a kid to her current involvement as a cult member (for the holy ghost of course)....and all the funeral and marching band trauma in between.

Just when we thought we said all we can say, the host on the side talks about when she had one on the way.  If we're gonna tell it then we're gonna tell it all! 

Cliffs notes = C-Sections, Parasites, Long Covid, Man Flu.

Hypochondriacs unite! We share our real life encounters with illness anxiety disorder and the mental gymnastics needed to fight the urge to visit Web MD. And as always, we do it with a healthy dose of humor. Just what the doctor ordered.