Numerical nuptials

Ah, 7/7/07. What a lucky day! It’s so lucky, in fact, that couples across the world will be tying the knot that day, hoping to bless their marriage with good fortune. If you don’t know anybody preparing their nuptials for Sunday, well, now you do: The CN&R’s own Evan Tuchinsky is wedding his sweetie, Amy Dolinar. They’re off galavanting in Maui, and even though those of us left behind are jealous, we offer them a hearty congratulations! In honor of Evan and Amy’s special day, here are some facts about the number seven, as found on sevenmagazine.com, which lists a whopping 77 of them:

1. The seven virtues are humility, liberality, chastity, kindness, abstinence, patience and diligence.

2. Seven days of blessings (Sheva Brachot) follow a traditional Jewish wedding.

3. Ancient astronomers believed there were seven planets—those they could see with the naked eye (the sun, the moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn). In most languages the seven days of the week take their names from these “planets.”

4. “Jumpy,” “Shifty” and “Snoopy” were among the names rejected for the seven dwarf characters in the 1937 Disney movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

5. The opposite faces of a die add up to seven.

6. Seventh Avenue in Manhattan is known as “Fashion Avenue” due to its concentration of fashion houses, including Ralph Lauren and Donna Karan. The designers have separately been dubbed the “King” and “Queen” of Seventh Avenue.

7. The heptagram, or seven-pointed star, is a traditional symbol for warding off evil. Most American sheriff’s badges are heptagrams.

Source: Seven Magazine