The Feast Day of the Virgin Mary - 15 August (Cephalonia)
The great thing about spending lots of time in Greece, is not only the food and sunshine, but indulging in the Greek culture. The Greeks celebrate lots of religious festivals throughout the year, and promote a great atmosphere across the mainland and its islands.
The 15th August is an important dates in the Cephalonian calendar. It is the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and is considered a Bank Holiday in Greece. It is also the name day for anyone named after her, so Maria, Marios, Panagiotis or Panagiota. It is customary to wish them 'Chronia polla' on this day.
In Cephalonia, there is a church located in the South of the island, The Virgin Mary Lagouvarda in Markopoulo. This church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and on the 15th August it attracts visitors from far and wide to see a phenomenon known as the festival of the snakes.
The story dates back to 15 August 1705. In this year, the church, then a former monastery came under attack from a group of pirates. The petrified nuns fervently prayed to the Virgin Mary to save them from their mercy and their prayers were answered instantly. The nuns were miraculously transformed into snakes to prevent them coming to harm. The pirates are said to have fled away from the monastery immediately.
Between the 6th and 15 August every year from this day on snakes are said to appear at the church, and people come to visit them on the feast day. The snakes are small and harmless and are said to have a cross on their head and a cross for their tongue. There were only two years that the snakes did not show, in these years, World War 2 started and also the Earthquake of 1953 which devastated much of the island.
During this period, the village turns from a sleepy hamlet into a vibrant place filled with market stalls and people that have come to pay their tributes to the Virgin Mary. As I am not in Cephalonia until next week, I have asked permission to use Martyn Green's photo's (a resident of Cephalonia) as he visited the church today and took some marvellous shots!
The 15th August is an important dates in the Cephalonian calendar. It is the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and is considered a Bank Holiday in Greece. It is also the name day for anyone named after her, so Maria, Marios, Panagiotis or Panagiota. It is customary to wish them 'Chronia polla' on this day.
In Cephalonia, there is a church located in the South of the island, The Virgin Mary Lagouvarda in Markopoulo. This church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and on the 15th August it attracts visitors from far and wide to see a phenomenon known as the festival of the snakes.
The story dates back to 15 August 1705. In this year, the church, then a former monastery came under attack from a group of pirates. The petrified nuns fervently prayed to the Virgin Mary to save them from their mercy and their prayers were answered instantly. The nuns were miraculously transformed into snakes to prevent them coming to harm. The pirates are said to have fled away from the monastery immediately.
Between the 6th and 15 August every year from this day on snakes are said to appear at the church, and people come to visit them on the feast day. The snakes are small and harmless and are said to have a cross on their head and a cross for their tongue. There were only two years that the snakes did not show, in these years, World War 2 started and also the Earthquake of 1953 which devastated much of the island.
During this period, the village turns from a sleepy hamlet into a vibrant place filled with market stalls and people that have come to pay their tributes to the Virgin Mary. As I am not in Cephalonia until next week, I have asked permission to use Martyn Green's photo's (a resident of Cephalonia) as he visited the church today and took some marvellous shots!
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