Every year on December 23 in Florina, Greece, thirty five fires are lit as part of an ancient custom. The largest fire is lit in the center of the main square near Sakouleva river.
It only takes five minutes for the flaming arrows to be fired. Early in the day, Florina’s Brass Bands begin their march through town, stirring the crowd. Visitors usually get lost in this mysterious and unusual atmosphere.
It all starts at midnight. The arrows are fired and when the wooden giant catches fire, time seems to stop.
Visitors usually prefer to watch the fire that is lit in the main square of Florina, but there are similar events in every village of the municipality. All customs that have to do with fire originate from ancient times and are usually connected to the pre-Christianity, fire-worshipping era. Nowadays, this particular custom is only celebrated in Northern Greece.
“In the old days, the event took months to prepare. All the children were divided into groups and went to the mountain to gather wood – mostly cedar. Sometimes they would go from house to house singing carols and asked for wood as payment. Their goal was to gather the most wood and make the largest fire in their own neighborhood,” says great Greek historian and folklorist Lazaros Mellios.
(Photo Credit: Maria Mesnitsari)
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
