The wedding ritual itself carries significant weight in Cypriot society. A Big Fat Greek Wedding is nothing compared to a Big Fat Cypriot Wedding! Weddings in Cyprus can have 2,000-2,500 people that attend! We used to invite everyone we knew, everyone the groom knew, everyone the bride knew, and everyone both sets of parents knew. When I was young, weddings in the village could last a week. People would cook, eat, help make the clothes of the bride, and help build the house. We invited more than 800-900 people to my wedding two decades ago, although dinner was for a smaller group (a bit less than 200 people). People used to leave Cyprus to study, and then return to Cyprus to make a family. When people decide to move back to Cyprus they usually do that for family and personal reasons, more than for professional reasons. There are more advantages than being alone in Idaho [where I used to work.]
Another situation that carried significant weight for me was when I was selected to be the first Chair of the first Department of Music ever in Cyprus. That was important. I was proud to carry weight in this role and contribute towards the advancement of music education in my country.
