Every year on the 21st of November the Orthodox Church celebrates “The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the temple” in the Catholic Church better known as “Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary”. Theotokos is the Greek title for Mary, translated it means “the one who gave birth to God”. The second primary school of Vrontados, situated next to the Church Panagias Ereithianis, has always a celebration on the eve before the 21st of November.
The preparations for the celebration started on Tuesday the 20th in the morning in the school. Some mothers came with a lot of flowers to decorate the icon of Virgin Mary, the Theotokos. One of our volunteers was allowed to help the mother with the flower frame. The base of the frame was covered with a layer of green branches and then the mothers and the volunteer added white and pink flowers around. In addition, all classes of the primary school and the kindergarten came by to make up bouquets. The icon with the flower frame was arranged in front of the school.
In the evening the celebration started in front of the school. Everyone, who arrived, first went to the icon of Theotokos and honored Virgin Mary. Pupils also distributed very tasty Greek almond cookies called Amygdalota.
Then priests and pupils dressed in robes came and the ceremony began. The icon was brought to the church by pupils and all the other pupils, parents and teachers accompanied the icon. The younger pupils had small lanterns. In the church the priests read scriptures and sang hymns, while the people lit candles and honored the Virgin Mary.
The service in the church took around one and a half hour, and we volunteers could experiment the different culture and religious denomination. After the church everyone got a piece of bread and some loukoumades and was invited to a small sit together with tea and snacks in the hall next door.
The celebration gave as volunteers another insight into the Greek culture and especially into the Orthodox religion. We are very happy, that we could make this unique experience.
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