Epiphany 2009

Epiphany is the final holiday of the Christmas season.We celebrate the baptism of Jesus Christ by St. John the Baptist. During the first centuries AD Christmas was celebrated together with Epiphany on January 6th. Many Eastern Christian churches still use the Julian calendar as opposed to the Gregorian one that is widely used. In fact Greece didn't adopt the new calendar until 1923 and many people, called Old Calendarists, still celebrate Christmas on January 6th.

The most spectacular part of the celebration is the blessing of the waters, when the priest throws a cross into the water of the sea, river or lake, or if none of them is available, the baptismal fonts where christenings take place. If thrown into the ceremonial fonts, the priest retrieves it immediately. Otherwise, young men take the plunge and attempt to retrieve it.

I remember when my grand father was officiating in England. Every year distinctive guests such as the Archbishop of Great Britain, the Lord Mayor, and the Archbishop of Canterbury as well as Anglican and Catholic people were joining in the celebration.
The procession would begin with Scottish pipes, followed by young boys carrying the hexapteryga, metal discs with a representation of the six-winged Serapheim on a pole and girls carrying baskets of flowers the dignitaries, and the people.

This year we had a lovely, sunny day, quite cold, but rejuvenating. The girls stayed at home, but we took J and drove to our piece of coast. The water was clear and quiet. Once the bishop let the cross fall into the water (held by a ribbon) some twenty young men and a young lady fell into the water and began swimming towards it. As soon as the young man who retrieved it, gave it to the bishop, the Army band that was present played the Greek National Anthem.

You should really be seeing a video here, but Blogger refuses to upload it, so expect the festive spirit to visit again sometime soon!