CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS |
THE
EASTER BONFIRE (ANAFANOS) The Anafanos
is a favorite Messenikolitan custom related to the mass of Easter night, when
the Resurrection of Jesus is celebrated. All villagers recall happy childhood
memories connected to this custom. This bonfire was the children’s work, which
was burnt in the evening before Easter Sunday probably to symbolize the burning
of Judas, the disciple that betrayed his Master. Many
years ago, when the village throbbed with more life than today, the building of
the Anafanos was a real kids’ fete,
which lasted the whole Passion Week. The
older boys of the village undertook the task of cutting down small cedar and
holly bushes, which the younger ones hauled to the site appointed for the
building of the bonfire right at the top of the village. There
they piled up the bushes building a stack that reached higher than On
Saturday evening all the kids gathered around the Anafanos to await the Resurrection announcement by the priest on
the churchyard – the church was in full view from the place – and to guard the
bonfire from the envious kids of the nearby village who always attempted to
thwart the Anafanos by prematurely
putting fire to it. On the other hand, that was also the kids’ excuse to spend
the whole night outdoors because in those days the Resurrection celebration
took place at 4 o’clock in the morning. The time was spent merrily with songs,
jokes and pranks, and at the same time the kids had the opportunity of enjoying
the enthralling night view of the plain of Thessaly with the innumerable lights
of the villages that merged with the glimmer of the stars. At
midnight the Resurrection fireworks from the 12-mile distant town of During
the long wake until the Resurrection it could get bitter cold, therefore the
children raided the nearby fences and yards to get the necessary fuel for their
warming. As
soon as the kids saw the first churchgoers coming out of the church with their
candles lit, they put fire to the stack all around it. After a few moments the
blaze was so bright that it turned the night into day. Then the voice of the
priest and of the entire congregation as well as that of the children rang in
the night by chanting the Resurrection canticle Christ is Risen. The atmosphere was really devout. Despite the meager number of children nowadays, this custom still goes on. Loukantzaria
or Rokantzaria (Grotesquely masked groups) On
the Epiphany Eve the village is overwhelmed by the songs and colors of
grotesquely masked groups of people, the so called Loukantzaria. This custom goes back to the pagan times and
symbolizes the ousting of malevolent spirits by the Holy Light. The
Loukantzaria are organized in
companies of people, who are dressed in a manner reminiscent of witch doctors or shamans. The leader of each
company carries a The
companies call on each house of the village in turns and sing a song, whose
lyrics are appropriate to the social state of the household. The
master of the house then stands the Loukantzaria
to generous treats of money or delicacies. In case of a tightfisted master
the Loukantzaria jeer at him with a
satirical song. In
the olden days, the Loukantzaria custom
lasted four days and there was an exchange of companies between villages. The
custom still goes on in our days despite the dramatic decline of the local
population. |