16 January Feasts

Today Mr Google invited me to go and look at the photos I took on this day three years ago.

It's the feast of St Anthony today and in our neighbourhood we have a small church dedicated to him.  Three years ago when life was just

the normal routine we went to the early morning service.  K naturally was one of the first there.  I crept in towards the end.

The wives of a couple of local Antonis had brought boxes of cakes which were passed around after the service and nibbled whilst chatting and wishing everyone Kronia Polla and even kissing a few cheeks.  Most of the congregation then slowly drifted away.  But not us, oh no.  K knew what was going to happen next.  The neighbours who look after the little church brought in a big oven tray of baked goat and lemon potatoes and a few litres of their own wine.

The 'in' crowd enjoyed fork fulls of roast goat and a glass or two of wine

The little church of St Anthony is literally in someone's backyard.

Today there may have been a service to celebrate this Holy Day but we didn't attend. I doubt there were any celebratory meats afterwards if it did take place.  Maybe next year.

Any celebrating will be done in the private homes of Antoni and Antonia and there will only be very close friends and family in attendance. But I'm sure they'll be celebrating as normal with their own fatted calf, flowing wine, music and merriment

Kronia Polla Anthony Rolf 💕

Saints Peter and Paul and the Apostles

The last of the June church celebrations

29th June
Apostles Petros and Pavlos
Peter and Paul to you

We have a few friends with these names so we'll be visiting or phoning on their name day to wish them 'Kronia Polla', many years in good health 

30th June
Apostolos
A general commemoration of all the Apostles. 
Another name day, this time for those named Apostolos, after the Apostles

1 July
Two Saints, Kosmas and Damianos, known as the Saints Anagyroi
Brothers and Physicians and martyrs of course
There is a small church at the top of the island dedicated to them.  In the early morning it is a good healthy walk up hill and then along a narrow track to attend the service and and enjoy the  view.

The Chapel dedicated to the Saints Anagyri

The view from the Chapel down over the main town on the island

Thanking the Saints

We had a near miss the other day.  K's eye was saved by a miracle.

He was putting up the shade-netting on the front of the house, helped by a friend and neighbour.  This year he had a new improved method.  The netting was supported by a tight wire across the middle to keep it from sagging.

And the wire snapped.  One of those horror stories you only see on TV.  The wire whipped back, went under his glasses, hit him in the corner of his eye and slammed into his nose.

Shock, horror.  Blood poured out of his nose and no one was sure whether the wire had actually gone into his eye.

Enough.  Thank those powers on high, besides a nose bleed and a blackened eye he was ok, just shaken.

Our nearest little church is dedicated to Agia (Saint) Paraskevi who is the protector of the eyes.  So, the next day we took a litre of olive oil to leave for the lighting of the oil lamps and went down to the church

The chairs are all stacked up to one side.  It probably won't be used till 25 July, the eve of the day dedicated to Saint Paraskevi.  There are candles and an honesty box to leave a few coins, the oil lamp and a cigarette lighter to light the lamp and candles.

K lights the lamp which will shine till the wick burns out

We each lit a candle thanking Saint Paraskevi for her intervention.

You never know

Elderly Vaso, our neighbour was down there a few days ago too lighting a candle.  She got sun stroke and just as she thought she was gasping her last breath she had a vision of the Saint and started to recover, so she says.

Quite a few people pop into this little church to light a candle and kiss her icon.  The church is always open.  You take one of the small brown beeswax candles and leave a few cents or a few euros in the box.  The candles are lit and placed in the tray of sand.  We snuffed ours out before we left.  Lit candles are dangerous at this time of the year.

Agiou Pnevmatos

Agiou Pnevmatos, The Holy Spirit

40 days after the Easter rising of Christ.  For forty days the greeting should have been, and once was, Christos Anesti (Christ is Risen) and the answer Alithos Anesti (Truly he is Risen) instead of Kalimera (Good Morning).  Now we can go back to Kalimera.  Only the priests and truly religious follow this practice now.

Orthodox Whit Monday, Agiou Pnevmatos, was yesterday, a public holiday.  Beautiful weather, long weekend, schools have just closed, I was surprised the island wasn't awash with visitors from the big city.  

There are plenty of people around, Greeks and tourists, walking up and down, but not enough to fray my nerves and send me heading for my quiet home in the hills.

Saturday was All Spirits Saturday when bowls of funeral wheat are taken to church to be blessed and then handed out, in paper bags with a plastic spoon, in remembrance of your dear beloved, gone but not forgotten,  The priest will go down to the cemetary and bless their graves for a few euros, or even none at all.