Customs of the Folk Festival throughout the year

now I have come out and live, poor man

black sky, cracked.

Your hens also lay eggs

and your nests cannot hold them

give us to enjoy them too

next year too!

 On Palm Sunday we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Exactly one week before the Jews cried out “Aron, aron, crucify him,” they sang “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” and spread laurels in His path. The church is decorated with laurels (or laurels); at the morning service the faithful share them, to keep them on their iconostasis to burn in the censer in a difficult moment. In Eastern Rumelia, boys and girls took the laurels to the fountain and sprinkled them. If there was a river nearby, the girls would go and throw their yams into it; whoever’s yam went the furthest would become “kumbara”, that is, she would set a table for the others, while they would sing:

“Whoever goes first will be the bride

she will be the bridegroom.”

Holy Week begins, the most devout week of the year, fasting becomes stricter, songs are forbidden (as is the case throughout Lent), the atmosphere is heavily mournful, work almost stops and everyone watches with holy sorrow the passions of the Lord, as they unfold in the services of each day. The only work allowed is to prepare the house for the holidays and only during the first few days. On Holy Thursday we do not work at all. On Good Friday we do not work until noon at 12.00 when the bell rings for the ceremony of the Deposition. On Holy Saturday we are allowed to make the final preparations until the afternoon. On Holy Wednesday we bake the tsoureki in the morning and in the afternoon the anointing takes place, where the priest crosses the faithful with oil, for blessing and health. In the past, they did not anoint the faithful with oil in homes, unlike today.

On Holy Thursday the main ceremonies and events of Holy Week begin. Housewives dye eggs red, but also yellow, blue, green (at least for the people of Eastern Romulus), in all the colors of the rainbow, with purchased dyes. In the past, they used to knead buns, while today they use buns, which were decorated with red eggs and almonds. In fact, these Easter buns were simple, they did not contain milk or eggs. They were made by godmothers for their christenings in the shape of a doll for girls and a horse for boys. They made the doll’s body triangular and placed a white boiled egg on the head and a red one on the body with its arms crossed over the egg. For the horse, they started the dough with a sigma, then opened a mouth and made bridles, placed the red egg and it was ready for baking, without brushing it with egg. They also prepared a bun with a red egg in the middle, which they took and broke in the vineyard, for good luck. These were the things that housewives from Agios Vlassis did. Otherwise, they made a simple bun or a basket, which they decorated with 5-6 red eggs, as well as a bun with an egg in the middle, to break on the vine. The water with the paint that they had dyed the eggs was either poured on the root of a flower in the house (Eastern Thrace) or kept for seven Thursdays afterwards, during which they also dyed eggs, such as on Holy Thursday (Eastern Rumelia). Some, mainly women, fasted for three days from both food and water, on Holy Thursday, Holy Friday and Holy Saturday until Easter. If they were in mourning, they did not dye eggs on Holy Thursday or they dyed them black.

In the evening, the church plays “Today He is Hanging on a Tree” by candlelight in an evocative atmosphere, as the priests, cantors and children turn the cross around the church in a reenactment of the ascent to Golgotha ​​and the crucifixion. The rest of the night until morning, the women of the village keep a vigil for the dead Christ. At the same time, the girls decorate the epitaph with various flowers or, as in the old days, with the “tear of the Virgin Mary”, as the dakrakia, the white hyacinths, are called, which grew on the banks of the river and in ditches and filled the small church with their sweet aroma. Waking up Christ, the women dressed in black lament:

“Today is a black sky, today is a black day,

today everything is sad and the mountains are sad

today the wicked Jews fired shots

to crucify Christ, the King of all…

(follows an extensive description of the Passion and how the Virgin Mary experienced it. It ends with Christ’s promise to his mother: )

… Only on Holy Saturday, around noon

when the rooster crows, the bells ring

the Lord signifies, the earth means, the heavens mean

and Hagia Sophia with three golden bells means

then mother I come with you, may you have great joys.

Whoever says it is saved and whoever says it is sanctified

and whoever listens carefully will receive paradise

paradise and incense from the Holy Sepulchre.

This song has many variations, but they all have common characteristics: the narrative character of folk parables, the intense emotion, they present the holy figures in their most human and painful dimension and mix the evangelical narrative with popular imagination and tradition. For example, they involve a fictional episode with the gypsy, which comes from folk tradition and which explains the way of life of the gypsies, since their distant ancestor supposedly received the curse of the Virgin Mary, because he maliciously made five nails instead of three for the crucifixion of Jesus. The women sympathize with the beloved Mother of Christ, they cry with her and indeed nothing is done hypocritically, the atmosphere is mournful and devout.

At the Crucifixion they hang embroidered handkerchiefs and shirts (votives) for health. In Eastern Rumelia, the gifts given to the Epitaph, towels, socks, handkerchiefs, embroidery, whatever everyone wanted, were put up for auction and the money was kept by the church for the poor.

The Epitaph in the church of Nea Kessani, in the Holy Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, on Easter 2024.

On M. On Friday they would go to the vineyard until the bell rang for the removal. In the afternoon, as is the case today, the procession of the Epitaph took place to the square, after all the faithful had previously bowed down; children were even made by their parents to pass under the Epitaph three times in length and width, so that they could be blessed. On the way back, they would distribute, as is the case today, the flowers of the Epitaph to the faithful. On Holy Saturday morning at the service, when the priest says “Arise, God, judge the earth,” he scatters bay leaves, which the women try to grab before they fall and hold them for the plucking.

Late in the evening of Holy Saturday Saturday is the Easter service, the house is clean, decorated, the sweets and Easter food smell sweet and inviting, everyone is well dressed, happy, ready to watch the resolution of the drama, the Resurrection, and to celebrate the victory of life over death. When the clock strikes twelve, they all sing together outside the church “Christ is Risen”, wish “Happy Birthday”, hug, kiss, crack their eggs and say “Forgive”, to show that all differences and quarrels are forgiven and forgotten and love prevails. The Easter service follows until about 2 a.m., which almost everyone attends. Returning home, we cross the lintel of the front door with the flame of the candle, to show that this house brings the blessing and joy of the Resurrection and we light our candle with the Holy Light. The festive table is ready and everyone is set to enjoy the traditional magiritsa, with entrekia, eggs, tsoureki and sweet wine. We do not set the table immediately, but the next morning.

Niki Kartali (right) and her friend Mastichenia Vathrakea crack their eggs one Easter.

On Easter day, the big feast takes place, the lambs are patiently roasted on a spit since dawn, or stuffed with rice or vegetables since evening in wood-fired ovens, the tables overflow with delicacies, traditional songs resonate and the wine flows abundantly ∙ the Greeks feast. Of course, they once didn’t eat much meat (probably due to economy), they preferred tsoureki, kouloures, red eggs, halva. At 12.00, the Second Resurrection takes place in the church. Throughout the rest of the week, the “asprovedomado”, the feasting does not stop, essentially, until Thomas Sunday, when it is Antipascha, the end of the feasting.

20/7 of Prophet Elias of Theovitos

(Custom of refugees from Agios Vlassis of Eastern Rumelia)

Prophet Elias, the Saint of the mountains, was celebrated in the village of Agios Vlassis of Eastern Rumelia with the sacrifice of a bull, a custom that dates back hundreds of years, but which was abandoned after their becoming refugees and settling in Nea Kessani. At the end of the summer, everyone, without exception, waited for the day of the feast of Agios Lios, to carry their bundles, neither earlier nor later. On this day, they made a kurbani (=animal sacrifice) in honor of the Saint being celebrated and for the health of the village, although the patron saint of the village was Saint Athanasius. We do not know exactly why, and the villagers who give us these testimonies simply say: “it’s been raining for years”. It was probably a remnant of an older ceremony, in which all the villages, which were built on the mountain of Ai Lias with the Saint’s monastery as their epicenter, participated. The entire celebration was considered a consecrated tradition, from which it was forbidden to deviate.

So on the 20th of July, all the men of the village gathered, led by the priest, at the threshing floor, which was a few meters away from the church, where a well-fed bull awaited them, tied to a large tree. This bull, bought with a donation from the villagers, had to be 2-5 years old, uncastrated (boulas), of any color except black and not to be tired, nor to have ever been yoked. Women were prohibited from the entire ritual. First, they stuck a candle to its horns, incense was burned on it and the priest read a prayer. Then they opened a pit, into which (the previous year) they had thrown the tail, ears, horns and bile of last year’s bull, so that “the dogs would not eat them the next day”, one of the villagers, after crossing the animal’s neck with his knife, cut its throat, taking care that all the blood spilled into the pit. With this blood they crossed the foreheads of the children for “gerosyn'”. This was followed by the grating and chopping, accompanied by bagpipes. Small pieces were distributed to the houses and the rest was boiled with rice for the evening feast at the threshing floor; everyone brought bread, salads and whatever else they wanted, while as they drank they poured a little wine on the ground as a kind of libation to the dead.

They did not leave the bones to the dogs, but threw them on the roof tiles. This entire ceremony, the “antet’”, was performed with religious devotion (despite its purely pagan character), in honor of the Prophet Elijah, and they believed that if they omitted anything, illness and disaster would fall upon the place.

An hour’s drive from the village was the monastery of Ai Lia, long since ruined. Tradition says that once upon a time, a deer would go there every year to be sacrificed (= sacrifice) for the Saint, but one year it arrived tired and the residents slaughtered it before it could rest, so it did not come back and from then on they began to slaughter a calf.

26/7 of Agia Paraskevi

Agia Paraskevi protects the eyes, the most precious asset of man. Just outside the village, towards the lake, a white chapel is built in the name of the Saint. It was built before World War II, because of a prophetic dream that an elderly gentleman had. Since then, it has burned down twice for unknown reasons, a fact to which some unpleasant situations have been attributed, such as the drought that occurred for a while. However, it was rebuilt repeatedly and today, thanks to the tireless work of the village priest, it is magnificent.

Every year the church celebrates and on the eve of July 26th a festive vespers is held, to which the whole village and many people from Xanthi and other villages flock. There is a bread offering with breads that some offer in the name of their own, they put the breads five by five in wide baskets, with a bowl of wheat in the middle, where they fix five candles in a circle and a small candle. The priest reads the breads and commemorates the members of the families who make the bread offering, holding in his hands a bread from each basket, then they cut them into large pieces and distribute them to the people, usually girls, in the baskets. This is followed by the prayer of the Saint and the established three-course feast in our square. The qurbani is distributed either on the eve after the prayer, or on the day after the liturgy.

06/08 Transfiguration of the Savior

On August 6, our church celebrates the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor, in front of his three disciples before he was crucified and at night, they say, the heavens open. On this day, the farmers of Nea Kessani bring the first grapes to the church, place them in front of the icon of the Savior, the priest blesses them, wishes them a “good harvest” and distributes them in the church, so that everyone can taste the sweet fruit.

15/08 Dormition of the Theotokos

On August 15, our Church celebrates the Dormition of the Theotokos and this is the greatest Theotokos feast of the year. Our people describe it as the “Easter of the summer” and it is as beloved as the holy face of our Virgin Mary. The feast is preceded by a fast that begins on the 1st of the month, as well as the celebration of the Prayer to the Virgin Mary every afternoon (except Saturday) until the 13th of the month. On this day, the faithful flock to the churches to honor the beloved holy person and a festive meal usually follows. especially in homes where there is someone or something celebrating (and there are many such homes).

29/8 Beheading of John the Baptist

On August 29th we commemorate the beheading of John the Baptist, which is why it is a great fast. In the past, they did not eat black food, such as olives, black grapes, eggplants, black wine, nor red, such as watermelon, tomatoes, etc., because they said that they were watered by the blood of the Saint. They still did not cut the head off any fruit, vegetable, or bread, in memory of the Saint’s beheading (we still observe this).

14/9 Elevation of the Holy Cross

The church of the village of Nea Kessani celebrates this day. From the evening of the eve, a festive vespers is held, the church is decorated with flags, and on the day the service is held, which everyone attends. Tradition says that when Saint Helen was searching for the Holy Cross of the Lord and wondered which one of them was it, she understood from a fragrant basil that grew next to it. Thus, on this day, many sprigs of basil are taken to church, which are shared after the liturgy. These sprigs are called “cross flowers” and are sacred; after the liturgy, the women prepare unleavened dough, put it in a bowl, add cross flowers, cover it and, oh my goodness, the dough rises without yeast. In the evening, a wonderful feast is held.

26/10 of Saint Demetrius the Great Martyr of Myrrh-Bearing

Saint Demetrius, patron saint of Thessaloniki and protector of farmers and herders, is honored throughout Greece with special reverence, and his feast is a milestone in the lives of winegrowers, who open the barrels and taste the new wines. Saint Demetrius also used to mark the end of the term of the shepherds who guarded the sheep, goats, and oxen, at which time they looked for new owners.

In our village, therefore, on the feast of Saint Demetrius, a custom was held, which is probably related to this event, rather than to the Saint himself. On the eve of the festival, a small group of young men, usually shepherds, would rouse the entire village. They would dress strangely in sheep’s skins, lots of clothes, wear large bells and hold a glitsa. One of them would necessarily dress as a woman – the jamala – whom the others were supposed to claim. So they would go around and enter houses and improvise short performances, always trying not to be discovered. The villagers would give them wheat or whatever else they had. On the day of Saint Demetrius, everyone would gather and feast with the money from the jamalas. This custom has been abandoned.

30/11 of Saint Andrew

The Thracians said that on Saint Andrew’s day the cold “strengthens” and is followed by the “Nikolovarvara” which marks the beginning of winter and harsh weather conditions. In our village, on the eve of Saint Andrew, the housewives of Northern Thrace would prepare a pie, usually a cheese pie, and distribute it to the neighborhood with the wish that it would “strengthen” the wheat they had sown in the fall. Some would make the so-called “assoure”, that is, boiled wheat, mashed, with cinnamon, herbs and nuts. Eastern Thrace housewives make assoure on the eve of Saint Barbara and call it “barbara”.

4/12 of Saint Barbara

On the feast of Saint Barbara, housewives make “barbara”. We boil wheat (kolyvozoumo) adding sugar, raisins, dried figs, some also add legumes such as chickpeas, and we serve it in bowls with roasted sesame, sugar, crushed walnuts, cinnamon and herbs and distribute it in the neighborhood “for good”. In the past, they believed that Saint Barbara protected children from smallpox and the sweet they distributed (traditionally to three houses) was their offering to the Saint, to protect children from the evil disease.