Epiphany celebrations in Greece and Cyprus
January 3, 2007
Epiphany is a day full of symbolisms and traditions, during which our Church celebrates Jesus’ baptism in Jordan River by John the Baptist. According to our popular tradition this is the day that the Elves, who have caused much discomfort to people during the holidays, leave the Earth. The celebration of this day has a particular protocol. In Athens, Mayor Bakoyannis will be present at the ceremony for the benediction of waters which will take place on Thursday at 10.30 in Dexameni in Kolonaki. After that, at 11.30, the Mayor will attend the ceremony taking place at the swimming pool of the National Gymnastics Club.
The feast of Epiphany is one of the oldest celebrations of the Christian Church. It was established in the 2nd century and it refers to the revelation of the Holy Trinity during Christ’s baptism. That is when the Holy Spirit appeared as a dove and sat on Jesus, while from above the voice of God was indicating Him as His beloved Son and His Chosen on Earth. It was established to be celebrated on January 6th, probably in order to coincide with the idolatrous celebrations of the early Christian years and to replace them.
During the first two centuries, the Christians also celebrated the Birth of Christ on the same day, but since the mid 4th century, when Pope Julius set December 25th as Christmas day, the feast of Epiphany has been celebrated separately. The Orthodox Church performs on this day the benediction of waters in the sea, in lakes, in rivers, even in water tanks. The name “Illuminations” (“Fota” in Greek), which we commonly use, has been established because on the day before the Epiphany the Church used to baptize the catechumen.
For all Greeks this day is connected with the casting of the Cross in the sea and with the effort of the bold ones to retrieve it from the – frozen this time of year – waters. The joy of the person who manages to get to the Cross first is a great one and the blessings of the priest accompany him for the whole year. On the day before the Epiphany, the neighborhood priest passes by the houses of his cogeneration in order to perform the customary blessing. It is the day that … the Elves fear the most – if we want to turn from our religious tradition to our folk one.
For more than two weeks the Elves are on Earth and they bother people with the capers they are pulling. During all these days they try to hurt people, but they do not succeed – clumsy as they are. The priest’s appearance in the houses on Epiphany day gives them the…finishing stroke and they disappear for once more in the bowels of the Earth. This is how the circle of tradition restarts until next Christmas when they will climb up again…
Epiphany in Greece > The Kalikantzaroi
January 3, 2007
Epiphany in Greece is known as Theofania or Fota. The first sanctification of the Epiphany (The Enlightenment) takes place in church on the eve of the holiday. Afterwards, the priest goes from house to house holding a cross and a basil branch. As he walks through each house, he uses the basil to sprinkle (bless) all the areas of the home.
An old custom in Crete , which is almost forgotten today, was the preparation of the fotokoliva (boiled wheat with peas) on the eve of Epiphany. The fotokoliva was eaten by the people, but they also fed it to their livestock, which was believed to insure good health and fortune in the homes.
The big sanctification takes place the following day, January 6, the day of the Epiphany.
A long procession is formed and follows whatever road that leads to a body of water - the sea, a river or even a reservoir. Up in front of the procession are the cherub icons, followed by the priests dressed in their best holiday splendor, then the VIPs, followed by all the people. In the bigger cities, the procession becomes more elaborate with the addition of music and military contingents.
At the end of the sanctification ceremony a priest throws a cross into the water, thus blessing the waters.
Then, those who dare - mostly the younger people of the village - jump in the usually icy water and compete in retrieving the cross. The one who brings the cross up to the surface will enjoy good luck and health for the entire year.
KALIKANTZAROI, THE CHRISTMAS SPRITES
Kalikantzari , or the Christmas Sprites, are small blackish and hairy creatures, with long arms and tail, who reside in the bowels of the earth. With a big saw, they compete to cut down the huge wooden stake which holds the earth in place. But the column is very thick and the sawing seems to go on forever.
Right before Christmas, however, they almost accomplish their mission and the column seems ready to fall. Overjoyed by their almost successful effort, but also fearful that the earth will topple over on their heads, they rush to the top to bother and annoy the people.
Thousands of these creatures come up to the surface from every hole or crack they can find. However, they are very much afraid of the light, so they hide during the day. But at night - that’s when they strike! As soon as it’s dark, they scramble from their hiding places to taunt and menace people. Because they are small, some even very tiny, they can get into the homes through chimneys, keyholes, even from the little cracks on windows and doors.
They enjoy lollygagging around in places like oil vats, frying pans, oily pots and dishes, and they really get a kick out of soiling food with their filthy fingernails and leaving their excrement all over the place. About the only good thing that can be said about these nasty pests is that they never steal anything - oh, but what a mess!
Their name comes from the adjective, kalos, meaning good, and kantharos, the word for beetle. The beginning of the myth regarding the Christmastide Sprites can be found in ancient times. The people of that time believed that when the souls in Hades found the door open they would come up to our world and make the rounds among people without any restrictions.
Much later the Byzantines celebrated with music, song and masquerading. Because the people hid their faces they were shameless and behaved boldly. They would bother people on the street, and go into the homes uninvited, pestering the people by continuously asking for sausages and sweets. The homeowners would slam the doors and shut the windows, but the persistent masqueraders would always find a point of entry - like coming down the chimney.
All this activity would occur during the 12 days of Christmas and on the Epiphany. Then, after the big sanctification all would become calm again as the people settled back down into their normal routine.
Today, the Kalikantzaroi disappear during the celebration of the lights, after the waters are blessed by the priests. As those pesky little creatures depart, you can hear them saying: “Leave we shall, because the crazy priest has arrived with his incense burner and his holy water sprinkler . . .”
Greek Carols for Christmas, New Year and Epiphany
January 3, 2007
A very old custom which remains today practically unchanged is Christmas carols, which is called calanda in Greek. Children, in groups of two or more, still make the rounds of houses singing carols, usually accompanied by the triangle or guitars, accordions or harmonicas.
The children go from house to house, knock on doors and ask: “shall we say them?” If the homeowner’s answer is yes, the kids sing their favourite carols for several minutes before finishing up with the wish, “And for the next year, many happy returns.” Years ago the homeowners offered the children holiday sweets and pastries, but today they usually give them some money.
The carols are sung on the eves of Christmas, New Year and Epiphany, and they are different for each holiday.
The word calanda stems from the Latin, calenda, which translates as “the beginning of the month.” It is believed that the history of caroling goes deep into the past and connects with ancient Greece. In fact, they have even found carols written in those distant past days which are similar to the ones sung today. In ancient times the word for carols was Eiresioni , and children of that era held an effigy of a ship which depicted the arrival of the god Dionysos. Other times they held an olive or laurel branch decorated with red and white threads, on which they would tie the offerings of the homeowners.
This Eiresioni song from the Homeric period can still be heard today - with small changes - in the carols of Thrace:
In this house we came of the rich-landlord
May its doors open for the wealth to roll in
The wealth and happiness and desired peace should enter
And may its clay jugs fill with honey, wine and oil
And the kneading tub with rising dough.
EPIPHANY CAROLS
Today is the lights and the enlightment
The happiness is big and the sanctification
Down the Jordan River
Sits our Lady the Blessed Virgin Mary
She carries an organ, a candle she holds
And pleads with St. John.
St. John lord and Baptist
Baptize this divine child of mine
I shall ascend to the heavens
To gather roses and incense
Good day, good day
Good day to you master and the missus.
Greece > “Kladaria” (the brushwood event)
January 3, 2007
“Kladaria” is the name of one of the customs which relate to the twelve-day-period from Christmas to Epiphany.
The necessary preparations, however, start as early as October. More specifically, on the next day of the feast of Aghios Dimitrios, i.e. on 27 October, children and teenagers provide for the raw material of this event; they run into the fields and the mountain slopes in order to collect brushwood and dead herbs. They mainly look for cedar branches as they have a special scent. The brushwood is stored in a dry place and remains there until it loses its moisture and dries up.
On 23 December, the preparations start as early as midday. The brushwood is piled up in huge heaps in the open space where this rite is going to take place. The oldest inhabitant of the village lights the branches in the evening. Then, the locals form a dancing ring around the fire. In some regions, men with bells hanging off their body turn around the fire thus lending a character of an ancient Greek, Bacchic event to these ritual ceremonies which along with the scent of cedars create a very special atmosphere. In some regions of Voio, the branches light up during the carnival period, or more specifically, on Cheese-Fare Sunday.
Epiphany Witches Regatta in Venice, Italy
January 3, 2007
From 06 January 2007 to 07 January 2007
This is an extraordinary regatta with costumes celebrated on Epiphany day along the Grand Canal. A fun regatta among old members of the oldest Venetian rowing society, the Bucintoro. Fifty men dressed as “Befane” challenge each other on the main part of the Grand Canal from S. Tomà up to Rialto Bridge. Arrival of the Befane is represented by a gigantic sock hung over the Rialto bridge for the occasion.
The Befana is one of the most popular traditions of the Italian collective consciousness. Her legend dates back to pre-Christian times. Nowadays, in the popular Christian culture, the Befana brings presents as a reminder of those given to Baby Jesus by the Magi. This very charming old lady flies on a broom bringing a bag stuffed with gifts on the night between the fifth and sixth of January. Then, sliding down the houses chimneys, she stuffs the socks left hanging by the children.
When: January 6, time: 11am Where: in the Grand Canal. Departure from Palazzo Balbi in San Tomà.
The customs of Cephalonia, Greece, on the day of the Epiphany
January 3, 2007
New Year’s Day puts an end to the stress caused by various festivities, obligations, hectic preparations and religious rituals. During this period of relaxation, hobgoblins, known as “kalikatzaroi” in Greek, pop up and take the chance to get into mischief in the towns and villages they wander around. According to local tradition, they look like young children and are called “pagana”, pixies. The women of Cephalonia burn incense at the front door of their houses and make the sign of the cross over it three times in order to exorcise these spirits.
On Cephalonia, the solemn blessing of the waters takes place on the eve of the Epiphany. Before priest’s arrival, the women take the ashes of the fireplace or the wood heater out of the house.
On the day of the Epiphany, the local women knead bread which is also known as “Fotitsa”. The term “Fota” or “Theophania” is synonym of the word Epiphany in Greek.
Epiphany > A feast fit for 3 kings
January 3, 2007
Three kings from the East offered precious, symbolic gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus.
They arrived in Bethlehem not on the day of his birth, but 11 days later. This day is recognized on the Christian calendar as the Feast of Epiphany. In cultural revelry, January 6 is known as the Twelfth Day of Christmas, the grand finale of the Christmas season.
The traditions of Epiphany, also called Three Kings Day, live on in places that were once Spanish colonies.
People from the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Mexico share their Epiphany customs of gift-giving and special foods, which they maintain to enrich their children’s sense of heritage and for the sheer fun of it.
Philippines > A nativity scene, called a belen, is the centerpiece of Christmas decorations in Filipino homes.
Maria Cielo Eugenio, remembers the excitement of waking on the morning of January 6 to find gifts for all the children near the belen, left in the night by the three kings during their journey.
“Little children believe in this the way they believe in Santa,” Eugenio says. “The kings are supposed to be rich, so they must leave gifts.”
There are three major islands in the Philippines, but there are 7,107 in all. Epiphany customs vary from island to island and from family to family.
Eugenio’s friend Myrlina Hunley from Visayas island recalls rearranging the figures of the three kings in the belen on Epiphany to show them departing. Many of Eugenio’s friends left shoes, the bigger the better, on the windowsill for the three kings to fill with gifts.
Eugenio, coordinator for classes on Philippine history and culture held at Our Lady of Lourdes on Woodman Road, says the Philippines observe the longest Christmas celebration in the world.
In a nation that is 82 percent Catholic, Masses play a central role. Beginning December 16, people arise at 4 a.m. for nine days for Misa de Gallo, the aptly named Mass of the Rooster. Special foods are served to family and friends after the Masses. The midnight Mass of December 24 is followed by a big celebration at home. Fifteen or more dishes, such as chicken adobo, pancit bihon and leche flan, cover the table. Influenced by 40 years as an American colony, Filipino homes also receive a visit from Santa Claus.
On the morning of Christmas Day, another Mass is held. A grand family reunion follows at noon. Roast pig, called lechon, is the main dish. The Christmas tree and the decorative star lantern, a parol, stay up until Epiphany, or the Feast of Three Kings. Many of the dishes served on the Christmas table reappear at Epiphany.
Mexico > When Maria Garcia-Lara, was growing up in Guadalajara, Christmas was all about baby Jesus and going to church. The day of January 6, when the three wise men came, was a big celebration. Gifts were exchanged and family cooks would labor over traditional foods, such as a hearty soup called posole and time-consuming tamales.
Garcia-Lara’s mother prepares those dishes for Three Kings Day when she comes to visit. With two daughters, and a job in her family business, Mexico restaurant, Garcia-Lara doesn’t have time to prepare the traditional dishes herself. Garcia-Lara says her children enjoy the custom of the three kings’ visit as well as Santa.
Mexican Epiphany celebrations also feature the Rosca de Reyes, or kings’ bread. This crown-shaped bread with icing contains Christmas figures inside, including the baby Jesus.
“The person who got the Jesus figure from the Epiphany bread would do a rosary [gathering] in the house on February 2, Candelaria,” Garcia-Lara said. Candelaria feasts feature tamales and Mexican hot chocolate. Candelaria, or Candlemass, often falls on the same day as Mardi Gras, or Shrove Tuesday, the last day in the church calendar before the season of Lent.
Many bakeries and groceries stock kings’ cake, a close relative of Rosca de Reyes, often sprinkled with sugar dyed the festive green, purple and gold colors of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras festivities. Home cooks wishing to involve children in making kings’ bread will find a recipe at http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/cafe/threekingsbread.html.
Puerto Rico > Going out into the yard in Miami to cut grass to place in a shoebox under the bed along with a bowl of water was an annual January 5 ritual for Ana Guerrero and her now-adult son. He knew the camels bearing the three kings would pass by and probably be hungry from their long journey.
“We didn’t leave cookies like we do for Santa,” Guerrero said. The kings would have to do without. As a child in Puerto Rico, Guerrero, received presents from Santa on Christmas and toys on Three Kings Day.
“I remember the year I got a dollhouse and I thought I had seen the kings [in my room],” recalled Guerrero. Often, there would be a trail of grass blades from the child’s bed to a doorway, showing the kings’ path in and out of the house. “When I got a little older, and a little wiser, the kings would bring school supplies.”
In Puerto Rico, the menu for Three Kings Day repeated Christmas favorites, such as roast pig and pasteles, which is a mix of pork, chickpeas, raisins and almonds enclosed in a masa of plantain, taro root, milk and salt.
Using a cookbook she received as a gift in 1962, Guerrero recently got together with two friends to make pasteles for the first time. Carols played as they worked in the kitchen, but it was a different experience from Christmas baking, she says. “It was more homey, more Latin, not sugary.”
