Holy Water

Not any old plastic half litre bottle of water.  Oh no.  This is a bottle of Holy Water.  Or what's left after everything and everyone inside and outside our house has been blessed.

This brand of mineral water is called 'AYPA' as you can see.  Pronounced 'avra' and meaning 'aura' in English.  A coincidence? 

My sister-in-law filled up a bottle of Holy water for greek husband on January 6th, the day of the Blessing of the Waters.

This Holy water comes from the Lesser blessing on the eve of Epiphany/Theophany and also from the Greater blessing on the day itself.

K has sprinkled holy water around the outside of the house, inside in the corners, over car and bike and now we have 3 sips every morning before we drink our coffee.  

When we lived in town the local priest would walk through his parish after Theophany and house wives would come out and wait on the street to invite him in to bless the household.  My m-in-law would have laid her best white cloth on a small table along with an icon of the Virgin Mary , a candle and incense.  Everyone gathered around the table and after a short blessing the priest sprinkled holy water around the room and on all of us, even me, pocketed his reward and went off to the neighbour's house.

Nowadays you ask to have the priest come and bless your house, though in smaller communities he still does probably go from door to door.  He will come and bless you and your house at any time and it is a common request when you have been through a period of trouble and strife and want the evil washed away.

How do you make Holy Water?

You boil the Hell out of it