Tuesday 6 January 2009

Greek Epiphany


The 6th January brings an end to Christmas, so it's time to take down all our decorations and store them safely till next year.

Here in Greece they celebrate with the blessing of the water. The priest blesses a large crucifix and hurls it into the water, then young men dive into the cold water to retrieve it. They throw the cross into the water three times.The first person to retrieve it gets gift and good luck for the rest of the year. Orthodox belief says it's the day that Jesus was baptised. There may be other references to the Three wise men too.

Hope you enjoy this little video that I took of the proceedings. As you can see its a beautiful day, only to be followed by a thunder storm, but what the heck it is winter after all.

My Cretan Life