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Post by artisans on Jan 6, 2010 19:21:34 GMT 2
It's a very important day in Greece today and it is a national holiday. Does anyone know why and who's name day is celebrated? being so special, there are a few to choose from!
Steve
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Post by SuMa on Jan 6, 2010 22:50:59 GMT 2
Epiphany (from Koine Greek ἐπιφάνεια "appearance", "manifestation") is a Christian feast day which celebrates the revelation of God made Man in the person of Jesus Christ. It falls on the 6th of January or on a Sunday close to that date.
Blessing of Waters: The Orthodox Churches perform the Great Blessing of Waters on Theophany. The blessing is normally done twice: once on the Eve of the Feast—usually at a Baptismal font inside the church—and then again on the day of the feast, outdoors at a body of water. Following the Divine Liturgy, the clergy and people go in a Crucession (procession with the cross) to the nearest body of water, be it a beach, harbor, quay, river, lake, swimming pool, water depot, etc. (ideally, it should be a body of "living water"). At the end of the ceremony the priest will bless the waters. In the Greek practice, he does this by casting a cross into the water. If swimming is feasible on the spot, any number of volunteers may try to recover the cross. The person who gets the cross first swims back and returns it to the priest, who then delivers a special blessing to the swimmer and their household.
The water that is blessed on this day is known as "Theophany Water" and is taken home by the faithful, and used with prayer as a blessing. People will not only bless themselves and their homes by sprinkling with Theophany Water, but will also drink it. The Orthodox Church teaches that Theophany Water differs from regular holy water in that with Theophany Water, the very nature of the water is changed and becomes incorrupt, a miracle attested to as early as St. John Chrysostom.
Theofania, Theofanis, Fotis, Fanis & Fotini name days are all celebrated on the 6th January
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Post by petra on Jan 8, 2010 18:17:04 GMT 2
Theophany/Epiphany : "Tirana, January 8 (MIA) - A 16-year-old Albanian girl broke with tradition by retrieving a cross from the bottom of a wintry Ionian Sea ahead of a dozen boys and men diving for it as part of a male-only Orthodox ceremony. Katerina Munguli plunged several meters to pick up the metal cross on Wednesday to the surprise and delight of the crowd and the priests near the pier of Kakome Bay, which faces Greece's holiday island of Corfu, an official said. " and: "Diving for the cross is done in several Orthodox countries to mark Theophany, also known as Epiphany, a Christian feast day in January. In Greece, women began to take part several years ago, but in Albania, Munguli was the first female reported to have joined in. " if you want to read all of the text goto: www.mia.com.mk/default.aspx?vId=70551255&lId=2
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2010 18:45:34 GMT 2
A school to which I was employed as a Site Manager was known as the Epiphany Primary School. The school would also celebrate this day, with the children dressing up in Greek costumes, with Greek food made for the celebrations. I would get involved, being a regular visitor to Corfu, and sometimes would tell stories of holidays on the island, and history for the island.
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Post by artisans on Jan 9, 2010 10:21:57 GMT 2
Thanks Petra ... and did you wish 'O 'Phanis' xronia polla?
Steve
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Post by petra on Jan 9, 2010 17:08:20 GMT 2
I am a bit confused about this Steve, because I believe there is another nameday in March (I think it´s 14th or 15th) for those with the name of Theofanis... so I am not sure when to say Xronia Polla..... to be sure I will have to do it twice then ;D Maybe you or somebody else on this forum can tell the difference (if there IS a difference between the two dates/ namedays).
I have the same problem with the nameday of my greek-dutch friend Despina, there are 2 namedays as well...1 of them is especially for the "virgins"/ unmarried I think ...
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Post by SuMa on Jan 10, 2010 3:16:46 GMT 2
Hi Petra
I believe Theofanis name day is also listed as 12th? March. In the listings I have read it doesn't state why there is 2 name days
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Jan 10, 2010 14:36:43 GMT 2
Post by petra on Jan 10, 2010 14:36:43 GMT 2
Hi SuMa, you are right about the 12th of March.... but I am still a bit confused about the 2 dates.. greets, Petra
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kaz
Roda Anorak
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Jan 10, 2010 19:33:06 GMT 2
Post by kaz on Jan 10, 2010 19:33:06 GMT 2
Hi petra....ther isn't any popular Name Days on 14th or 15th March......on the 14th the names are Benedict and Matilda......on the 15th only a male name "Agapios" which means love...hence that wasn't chosen for a boy (only girls were given this name so it is on a different day 17th Sept, as is Sophia.....will try and find out about the name "Theofanis"...Kaz
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kaz
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Jan 11, 2010 15:45:58 GMT 2
Post by kaz on Jan 11, 2010 15:45:58 GMT 2
re; Name Day...Theofanis & Ourania are on the 6th January...hope this helps.......all this information is from a Greek friend who is also a teacher............Kaz
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Jan 11, 2010 16:20:59 GMT 2
Post by petra on Jan 11, 2010 16:20:59 GMT 2
Like I wrote before...I know there are 2, but it's interesting to know the difference between them (if there is/are any).... Found this at www.eortologio.gr/data/eortes/namedays_T.php : "THEOFANIS (1) (Theofania, Theofanis, Fanis) 6 January THEOFANIS (2) (Theofania, Theofanis, Fanis) 12 March " steve, did you start this topic? ;D, not sure my husband will understand why I am interested btw: we talked about the subject epifania in greek class as well and I did remember to say "Xronia polla na sas zisei " to my greek teacher, his daughter's name is Fanoula / Theofania.
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Jan 14, 2010 18:42:51 GMT 2
Post by petra on Jan 14, 2010 18:42:51 GMT 2
I found a video about a choir singing in the church of Episkepsi at Theofaneia (6th of january 2010), this village is not far from Acharavi, on the road to Mount Pantokrator.
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Post by artisans on Jan 15, 2010 9:58:22 GMT 2
Hi Petra - whoever took the video must have been with the choir, on the balcony, directly above our heads! It was quite an experience.
Steve
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Jan 15, 2010 15:04:10 GMT 2
Post by petra on Jan 15, 2010 15:04:10 GMT 2
steve, you 2 were there at theofaneia? really? or before??
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Jan 15, 2010 15:36:17 GMT 2
Post by artisans on Jan 15, 2010 15:36:17 GMT 2
Yes, Petra, really - we went with Kostas and his parents. It was at one of the four churches in Episkepsi - the oldest and most traditional. We have a bottle of holy water to prove it.
Steve
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