![]() On the morning of the Saints' day, May 21, the gather at the konaki and proceed to a well to be blessed with holy water, and sacrifice animals. After some time they believe that they may be "seized" by Saint Constantine and enter a trance. ![]() Here, on the Eve of the saints' day, May 20 Saint Constantine and Saint Helen, they gather to dance to the music of the Thracian lyre and drum. ![]() Įach community of the Anastenaria has a special shrine known as the konaki, where their holy icons are placed, as well as the "signs" of the saints ( semadia), votive offerings and red kerchiefs attached to the icons. The festival culminates with a firewalking ritual, where the participants, carrying the icons of saints Constantine and Helen, dance ecstatically for hours before entering the fire and walking barefoot over the glowing-red coals, unharmed by the fire. Each of the festivals lasts for 3 days and involves various processions, music and dancing, and an animal sacrifice. The two major events in this cycle are two big festivals, one in January and particularly one in May, dedicated to these two saints. The central figures of the tradition are Saint Constantine and Saint Helen, but all the significant days in this cycle coincide with important days in the Greek Orthodox calendar and are related to various Christian saints. The Bulgarian and Greek villages perform a unique annual ritual cycle, which begins on May 21 and ends on May 23 every year. ![]()
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