In Greece, the month-long festive season ends on January 6th with the interesting and deeply traditional celebration of Epiphany. A public holiday with open space rituals second to none, Epiphany in Greece is beautiful to watch and enjoy even as a non-religious spectator.
In this article, I explain how I came to love the traditional Greek custom of celebrating Epiphany, what Epiphany represents for the Greeks, and all the customs and vocabulary you need to understand this wonderful Greek celebration.
Epiphany ends the Greek holiday season
Greek holiday season starts with the celebration of St Nicholas, a patron saint of sailors and maritime activities on December the 6th.
From that date, a festive calendar brings an array of saints, with Christmas (25th of December) and New Year’s celebrations the most significant and elaborate for their preparations, public rituals and activities, and family enjoyment.
This colorful, tasteful, and deeply religious month in Greece ends on January 6th with the celebration of Epiphany, the third and last holiday of the festive season.
As with everything else during the festivities, elaborate preparations and activities mark the day of the Epiphany – read on to understand all about it.
What is Epiphany?
Epiphany is not only a Greek ritual; it is one of the most sacred events in Christianity celebrated all over the Orthodox world from ancient times until today. It represents the baptism of Christ in the Jordan River by John the Baptist.
This event holds a special religious significance as Jesus became recognized during the event as both the Messiah and an integral part of the Holy Trinity (something that Orthodoxy and Catholicism will have a lot to argue about after 1054 when the Great Schism separated the Church to its Western and Western parts).
In fact, Epiphany is THE single most significant event in the Orthodox Church, as it commemorates the revelation of Jesus as God.
Alternative names for Epiphany in Greece
You will often hear other names for Epiphany in Greece – either Theofania or Fota.
Theofania (Theophany) comes from two Greek words put together – Theos (meaning God) and Epiphania (meaning to show, reveal) – meaning ultimately the Revelation of God.
Fota, from the Greek word for light (Fos, singular; Fota, plural), meaning ‘The Light from which the revelation of the Holy Trinity came upon the world.’
Differences in celebrating Epiphany in Eastern and Western Christianity
Although celebrating Epiphany is one of Christianity’s oldest traditions, observed since the Roman times (more precisely, 361AD), the Western Church celebrates it differently – on January 19th, commemorating the Visit of the Three Magi to the newborn baby Jesus Christ.
Whatever the date and the event commemorated, both churches celebrate the revelation of God to the earth and mankind.
How the Greek Orthodox Church Celebrates Epiphany in Greece
Celebrating Epiphany in Greece marks an official closure of the twelve days of Christmas that began with Christmas Eve.
The highlight of the celebration is the double blessing of the water during which water becomes purified from evil.
The first blessing
The whole thing starts on the evening of January 5th, when the water is blessed for the first time during a liturgical service called Mikros Agiasmos (The small Sanctification), inside the church and usually in a font holding baptismal water.
The faithful attending the service will be given a small bottle of the blessed water to take home and bless their homes.
The second blessing
The second blessing of the water happens the following day, January 6th, and brings a whole community together in a public space. In larger towns and cities, military parades and orchestras will usually add to the flamboyance of the celebrations.
Regardless of the size of the community, a mayor or a village president and community elders will always be present.
On the day of the Epiphany, after a Divine Liturgy of Megalos Agiasmos (The great Sanctification of water), a whole congregation holding icons takes the nearest road from the church to the “living water“ – either a sea, a river, a lake or a reservoir.
On the quay, since Jesus blessed the waters of the Jordan River through his baptism, priests have performed a blessing of the waters.
The grand finale and the swim
The final element of the Great Blessing occurs when the Greek Orthodox priest throws a Holy Cross into the water three times – in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – thus blessing the water.
The clergy on the quay and the priest casting the Holy Cross are surrounded by a crowd of young men ready to jump into the freezing water to retrieve a cross the moment it is thrown.
The person who brings back the cross receives, besides the admiration of the community, a blessing from the priest believed to bring health and good fortune to the person and his household for the entire year.
The icy waters, howling winds, and low winter temperatures mean the soaked people are quickly wrapped in blankets by the crowds and taken to the surrounding bars and cafeterias that have already prepared warm drinks for everyone.
Although “the swim“ starts and ends quite quickly, the whole spectacle leaves everyone in awe and you can’t help but admire the bravery of forcing the freezing waters in near-zero temperatures.
The procession then returns to the church, where the people are blessed with basil leaves dipped in the holy water before taking home small bottles of holy water.
Epiphany traditions in Greece
Although the main event of the Epiphany celebration in Greece is “the swim,” there are several heart-warming customs observed on January the 5th and 6th every year, and well worth watching if you can be in Greece at this time.
Fota Kalanta – Epiphany carols
In Greece, carols are sung on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, and on Epiphany. Named the Carols of Fota (the light), the songs recount the creation of the world and the water by God, ending with the event of Jesus’ baptism in the River Jordan.
Roukgatsia
The Roukgatsia custom is observed in various parts of northern Greece. Groups of people wearing masks go door-to-door singing carols but it is unfortunately quickly dying out.
A colorful tradition that will soon become a thing of the past, it includes various costumes and singing in front of the houses where girls of marriageable age live.
Blessing during the Small Sanctification
At the end of the church service on the Eve of Epiphany, priests perform the blessing of the faithful by dipping a handful of basil leaves into holy water, before applying it to a person’s forehead.
Blessings all around the town
During Epiphany Week, priests go around towns and villages, blessing households, and nowadays even into shops and public institutions. I always like seeing the priests dressed up in their Byzantine cassocks blessing people, houses, and animals amidst the hustle and bustle of the 21st century all around them.
Small boat removals and returns
In coastal villages where the Sanctification of water occurs in the harbor, small wooden boats are removed from the pier the day before the Epiphany, to make room for the swimmers. I love observing that busy harbor day with a warm drink in my hand.
Even better is the return of all those small wooden boats just minutes after the cross is returned, so they and their owners can be blessed by the priest.
Epiphany foods
Unlike Epiphany Eve, which is strictly a fasting day, the Orthodox calendar does not prescribe the same diet for the day of Epiphany. The custom is that Greek people eat fish and seafood on January 6th.
I love tsipoura (bream) with baked vegetables or a hearty portion of fried calamari!
TIP: Don’t expect as great a feast as for Christmas or Easter.
Down with the Xmas tree
Since Epiphany marks the end of Christmas season, Christmas trees and Christmas decorations are taken down on that day, as leaving them on dsplay is considered to bring bad luck.
Epiphany vocabulary
⭐ Agiasmos – Blessing, Santification
⭐ Stavros – cross
⭐ Papas – priest
