Lucky Marriage Coins

Phidas can bestow blessings and curses, so it is common for weddings to try to invoke Phidas' favor.  Phidas has a little bit of association with good health, but he is mostly invoked to try to call prosperity upon the new couple.   The most common wedding ritual associated with Phidas is to have a lucky coin, usually a common silver piece.  There are many variations, such as the bride ends up with the coin and sometimes the groom gets the coin or if both get a coin.   Typically if the couple or their families have minimal respect for Phidas the coin is blessed in a single afternoon. If the family are staunchly aligned with the Masks., the families of the bride and groom may try to bless the coin for months.   The lucky coin is blessed by a priest of Phidas (or a lay person praying to Phidas) then the coin is passed to a family member of the bride and groom, then to another family member, then to another family member, again and again.  The point is to get a blessing of luck and well wishes from as many friends and family as possible.   Depending on local tradition or family tradition, the various coin bearers may end up carrying the coin for a few minutes, a few hours, a few days, or in rare cases a week before passing the coin along to the next person.   Depending on the local or family tradition, the coin is carried in a person's pocket, on a chain around their neck against their heart, or inside their shoe.  It is considered bad luck if any coin bearer loses the coin.   After the bride and/or groom receive their coin(s), they then donate the coin to Phidas at the nearest Phidas temple or shrine shortly after the wedding.  They might donate the coin immediately after the wedding if a Mask is the officiant.   A silver piece donation to Phidas is considered more than generous for most peasants, but wealthier couples will often accompany their lucky coin donation with an additional monetary donations, and it is not unwelcome for a couple or their families to donate material goods.   Regardless of whether or not the lucky coin comes with additional donations, this is one rare case for the Masks where the sentiment counts more than monetary value.  The Masks are very polite and gracious when participating in this ritual.   Sometimes the Masks even mint their own commemorative wedding coins which they sell in pairs in which case the couple tends to keep one coin and donate the other one though in other cases paying for the coins is their donation.