Celebrations & Festivals   1 January - Feast of Saint Basil  [ - read more - ] According to Byzantine tradition, the New Year’s Cake (Vasilopita) is sliced, and whoever finds a coin in his serving is designated as the year’s lucky person. New Year’s Eve is filled with traditional caroling and gift giving 6 January - Epiphany On the 6th of January, the "twelve days of Christmas" officially come to an end.  Epiphany is the celebration of Jesus's baptism by Saint John the Baptist.  In Greece,  the day is marked with special ceremonies of blessing the waters and the vessels that use them. Around the country rivers, lakes, and oceans are blessed and crosses are tossed and immersed in them.  Once tossed, young men dive to retrieve the cross.  It takes the very brave to face the cold waters to compete, and the winner is awarded with good luck for the year ahead.  After the diving, fishermen bring their boats to be blessed by the local priest.  The largest celebration is in Piraeus, the ancient port of Athens. Epiphany is also called the Phota or Fota, in reference to the day being a Feast of Light, and it is also the saint's day for Agia Theofana. While the biggest observance is at Piraeus, many islands and villages offer smaller versions of the event. 8 January - Gynaecocratia If you happen to see lots of women doing nothing much on the 8th of January in the villages of Serres, Kilkis, Xanthi and Komotini, it's because it's their day to take it easy. During this celebration of matriarchy, roles are reversed for men and women.  Men stay at home and do housework while women spend the day in the cafes and other social places where the men usually gather. Meanwhile it's up to the men to look after the home ... if it still stands by the end of the day.  Men are only allowed to join their wives when dusk falls. 30 January - Pilgrimages to Tinos On most days of the year, the tiny windswept island of Tinos (eight hours from Athos by ferry, in the Cyclades archipelago) offers a haven of peace and tranquillity, untouched by the tourists that flock to nearby Mykonos. However on special feast days, all heaven breaks loose as the faithful descend on its very holy church.  The island has a community of 40 villages and 700 churches and monasteries, including the most important church in the Greek Orthodox world: the Church of the Megolohari, which houses the miraculous healing icon of the Virgin Mary. The story goes that in June 1822, a young nun by the name of Pelagia had a series of visions of Our Lady. Her brutally simple room in the nunnery in the tiny village of Kechrovounion is now open to the public, and is almost as popular with the devout as the Megolohari shrine. Mary apparently told Pelagia to inform the elders of Tinos village that they were to begin excavations in an uncultivated field in order to unearth a sacred icon. Sure enough, six months later, a worker tilling the soil unearthed an icon of our Lady kneeling with her head bent in prayer, since named Panagia Evangelistria (Our Lady of Good Tidings). Regarded by scholars as pre-dating the Byzantine period, it was thought to be hidden or lost during the time of the Moslem invasions before its timely rediscovery.  Shortly after the icon was discovered, thousands of pilgrims began to make their way from all over Greece. Numerous reports of healing miracles spread the fame of the icon, which is widely venerated on four major festival days: 30 January (when the icon was found), 23 July (when Pelagia first saw her vision) and 15 August (the Assumption of Mary). The fourth day, on 25 March, (the day of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary), tends to be the biggest and most spiritually fuelled. The sleepy peaceful island fills to the brim with the devout and not-so devout pilgrims from mainland Greece and nearby islands over the few days surrounding the festival date. Most visitors come to pay their respects to their holiest shrine and enjoy a few days' holiday with their families. The more devout make the journey uphill on all fours.  Fortunately, some can take advantage of a carpeted strip which eases the pressure on the knees, but the journey takes a good hour. Whatever the reason for your visit, it is worth experiencing Tinos in its upbeat times - for most who hit the Greek islands, it is a place of refuge from humanity, and as such, not a place to party in usual Greek-island style.  (30 January - 25 March - 23 July - 15 August) February/March - Carnival - (Three weeks before the start of Lent) Carnival is celebrated in the evenings with costumes, dancing, and music. Patra is known to have the largest and most vibrant Carnival celebrations with decorated chariots parading through the streets. On the island of Skiros men wear goatskin masks and hairy jackets to become half men, half beast. Other celebrations worth noting are in Athens, Veria, Zakinthos, Kefallonia, and Naoussa in Macedonia, Kozani, Xanthi, Mesta and Olimbi (on the island of Hios), Galaxidi, Thebes, Poligiros, Thimiana, Lamia, Messini, Sohos, Serres, Agiassos (on the island of Lesvos), Karpathos, Iraklio and Rethimno (on the island of Crete), Amfissa, Efxinoupolis (near the town of Volos), and Agia Anna (on the island of Evia). 25 March - The Feast of Annunciation & Greek Independence Day Feast of the Annunciation:  On this day in the Orthodox calendar, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Maiden Mary and announced the news:  She was pregnant with the Divine Child. Bishop Germanos chose this day to deliver a different but not unrelated message:  A new spirit was about to be born in Greece. The churches celebrate the Festival of the Annunciation with pomp, ceremony, and joy. The spectacle is especially vivid on the islands of Tinos and Idra (Hydra). Hydra, a maritime merchant power with a swift, well-maintained fleet, was a determined and effective supporter of the War for Independence, doubling the celebration there. You can also expect colorful religious ceremonies wherever the local monastery or church is named "Evangelisimos" or "Evangelistria", such as Panagia Evangelistria on Tinos. Greek Independence Day [ - read more - ] - In 1821, Greeks vigorously rose up against the oppressive Ottoman Empire which had occupied Greece for nearly four hundred years, embarking on the ultimately successful war of independence. Bishop Germanos of Patras boldly raised the Greek flag at the monastery of Agia Lavras, inciting the Peloponnese to rise against the oppressors. April - Feast of Saint George (Agios Georgios) April 23 or the Monday/Tuesday following Easter if April 23 falls during Lent.  Saint George is the patron saint of shepards so this is a large rural holiday. In the city of Kaliopi on Limnos and in the city of Pili on Kos the day is spent racing horses. On Crete a three-day-long feast takes place in Arahova and in Assi Gonia, near Hania; a sheep-shearing contest follows the religious festivities. 21 May - Anastenaria This traditional fire-walking ritual is a mix of pagan and Byzantine traditions. In the town of Agia Eleni (near Serres) and in Lagadas (near Thessaloniki) villagers dance on burning charcoal while clutching icons of Saint Constantine and Saint Helen. June - Navy Week During this week, coastal towns, fishing villages, and ports in all of Greece celebrate the long Greek relationship with the sea and honor the Greek Navy. Unique celebrations occur in Hydra, in Plomari on Lesvos, and especially in Volos where the mythical voyage of Jason and the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece is reenacted. 17 July -  Feast of Saint Marina (Agia Marina) Saint Marina is an important protector of the crops, therefore this feast is a large event in rural areas. Although celebrated in many parts of Greece, this feast day is particularly important on the island of Kassos in the town of Agia Marina. 20 July - Feast of Prophet Elijah (Profitis Ilias) The hilltop churches and monasteries dedicated to this prophet, especially in the Cyclades Islands, celebrate the day with a feast. 15 August - Assumption of the Virgin (Apokimisis ths Panagias) Assumption Day falls within the traditional Greek vacation month when Greeks are normally on the move.  Crowded ferries and buses become even more packed near the holiday as people travel to be near their families.  The island of Tinos is a major pilgrimage destination for thousands who come to be blessed, healed, or baptized.  (see above / Tinos) 8 September - The Virgin's Birthday (Genesis tis Panagias) Throughout Greece, there are religious services and feasting. Childless women pilgrimage to the monastery at Tsambika on Rhodes. On Spetses they also celebrate the anniversary of the battle that took place on September 8, 1822 in the waters of the straits of Spetses. A re-enactment of the battle takes place in the harbor, followed by fireworks and feasting. 14 September - Exaltation of the Cross (Ipsosis tou Stavrou) This festival, one of the last of the summer, is traditionally spent singing hymns. In the town of Halki this is a very important festival. 26 October - Feast of Saint James (Agios Dimitrios) In Thessaloniki, this feast is celebrated with wine drinking and revelry. 28 October - OXI Day [ - read more - ] During World War II, Mussolini issued an ultimatum to Prime Minister Metaxas demanding free Italian passage through Greece. Metaxas' response was "OXI" which led to the subsequent battle and eventual defeat of the invading Italian army in 1940. Today, OXI Day is celebrated with remembrance services, military parades, folk dancing, and feasting. 8 November - Feast of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel The numerous churches named after Michael and Gabriel, particularly at the rural monastery of Taxiarhis on Simi and the big monastery of Madamados on Lesvos, are the major participants in this feast. Greece-Cafe wishes to thank about.com, greece101.com, and whatsonwhen.com for information posted to this page