Feast Day of Agios Nikitas – Nisyros
By Helen Grubner. Filed in Uncategorized |
'Silver Head' - Feast Day of Agios Nikitas of Nisyros
Unbeknown to me, I was arriving in Nisyros on a very important day – a religious celebration happening at the church opposite Hotel Romantzo, commencing on Sunday 20 June, my first day on the island and continuing on Monday 21 June, the Feast Day of Agios Nikitas of Nisyros, patron saint of the island.
The afternoon began with a small group, lead by four young boys dressed in colourful robes and priests, leaving the church to walk through the town. Around 1900 hours, just after the church bell had rung out in a deafening way, they returned leading a grand procession of church representatives, local dignitaries, army personnel and scores of islanders. With crowds already waiting at the church, the service began and went on and on and on. I have very little understanding of what it was all about – I believe the church representatives included those of the highest order as it was a very special celebration of something to do with Agias Nikitas, taking place for the first time on Nisyros. The Feast Day is celebrated every year on 21 June, however, the ‘silver head’ held some special significance. When the service eventually came to an end, in fact, even before then, the table of Greek sweets, brought along by the womenfolk, was uncovered and the eating began. I had been given a mixed plate of sweets earlier on, all of which I have devoured over the last 24 hours.
By 2230 hours the crowd was long gone – as I thought of bed, a few late stragglers were still arriving at the church but the hot night air was still and quiet and remained so until 0700 hours this morning when it began all over again. I feel privileged to have been here at this time, however, I would like to understand more of what the celebration was all about.
Today I ventured out to walk around and discover the town of Mandraki where I am staying. A maze of little alleys and the Monastery of Panagia Spiliani atop a rock at the western end. I bought a bag of stone fruits – nectarine, peach and apricot, to enjoy at will, then a fish meal at Captains Taverna. Tourists may have considered the fare to be enjoyable, however, for me it was very disappointing so I will not be returning there. I had wanted to explore further and take more photographs but the heat got the better of me, came back to my room for a siesta intending to wander off again early evening – have not done so – there will be another day.
Footnote – Amazingly, my brain clicked in last evening telling me what a great opportunity a religious celebration in Greece would be to try out my video taking skills. Shot a few short clips, I have copied them to my computer, now I need to figure out how I can open the files and copy them to my website.