Epiphany is celebrated on January 6th to commemorate the revelation of God as Jesus during his baptism. On this day, a church service is held followed by the blessing of waters, where people participate in driving out demons. Traditionally, the priest throws a cross into the water and people dive in to retrieve it for the priest's blessing for the new year. In the past, children would also sing carols in exchange for sweets or money on Epiphany, as they do on Christmas Eve. Epiphany continues to be celebrated widely in Greece as one of the most important days of the year.

1. EPIPHANY

2. What is it?
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Epiphany is an annual Christian Feast Day on which
we celebrate the “christening” of Jesus Christ.
The word itself actually means the revelation of God
and refers to the appearance of the Holy Trinity during
the Jesus Christ’s christening.

3. How is it celebrated?
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Epiphany traditionally falls on January 6. On
that day after the Church Service, the Blessing
of the Waters takes place in which everyone
can participate.

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In the old days people used to believe that by
blessing the waters, the priest drives out the
“Kalikantzari” that are small demon-like
creatures that creep into people’s houses and
steal their food.

5. Which is the most common custom of this day?
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After the Blessing, the priest throws the Holly Cross
into the sea or the river and many swimmers braving
the cold weather dive into the water to catch the cross
and take the priest’s blessing for the year.

6. Are there any other customs?
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In the past young children used to sing carols
over sweets or a small amount of
money, something similar to what they do on
Christmas Eve.

7. Epiphany is celebrated until today
all around Greece and it is one of
the most significant days of the
year.
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8. Thank you for watching
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•Kostas Meliopoulos.
•Venediktos Andreadis.
•Dimitris Kalligas.
•Vlassis Bordenas.