Epiphany or Theophania or Phota is the last but very important of Christmas holidays for the Orthodox Church. According to Klemes of Alexandria , it started from the 2nd c.AD from the Gnostics Christians of Egypt. They choosed the 6 th of January in order to replace the idolatrous celebrations as it was an ancient Greek holiday in Apollo's honor.
The Epiphany commemorates the baptism of Christ in the river Jordan from John the Baptist. According to the etymological interpretation "Theophania" means the appearance of the Saint Trinity for the first and last time. The other name "Phota" means light and it is symbolizing the light that the baptized accepts during the baptism.
In Greece, Epiphany's Eve, children visit the houses singing the carols of this day. The mistress makes them welcome giving them some money or treating them goodies. The priests visit the houses and with a basil branch they sprinkle them with Holy Water.
On the Epiphany's day in the churches they prepare the Great Holy Water. Faithful take into small bottles the holy water and they bring it at their homes. All members of the family drink some of it to be blessed.
Young men dive into cold lakes, rivers or the sea in order to get the cross which has been blessed by a priest and thrown into the water. Whoever gets the cross first is meant to have good luck during the year.
For the W.Macedonians Epiphany is the most important holiday of the year. They wear new clothes and news shoes.
In Thessaly, Kastoria, Drama, Karditsa, they celebrate the "Ragostaria". People disguise themselves, they use masks, black coats, they ring bells, they scream and they dance in order to terrify and send away the "Kallikantzari"(=Goblins), the ugly and troublesome little creatures that live inside the earth and come to surface during the 12 day period from Christmas until Epiphany, when all waters are blessed.
On the island of Lefkas they throw into the sea the old oranges and they baptize a fresh one that they keep next to the icons.
On the island of Mitilini they take the blessed Holy Water from the sea in a pumpkin and they wash their holy icons. During this ceremony they are not allowed to talk.
The farmers sprinkle their farms and their animals with the Holly Water and they wash their farming tools in the seawater in order to be blessed. They also wash the holy icons. This reminds us the Athenians that in ancient times every year they washed the statue of Goddess Athena at Faliron's seawater. This was a great holiday called "Plintiria"
