Coming from a family of three, I had never celebrated the New Year with a big family before, but suddenly there I was, surrounded by children dashing about tossing balloons in the air with squeals of delight as parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and more looked on. It was all charmingly chaotic. And don’t even get me started about the food again! As midnight approached, I never imagined I would get to see Santa Claus, here known as Saint Basil, come to the door and hand deliver presents to one and all, but then, with a knock on the door, he appeared. He even had a present for me tucked in his sack!
Sometimes you don't have to travel far or go somewhere extraordinary to have an interesting cultural experience. Last Sunday, which was a holiday called Τα Φώτα ("The Lights") or θεοφάνεια ("Epiphany"), I went to church in Limassol to see the celebrations in honor of the baptism of Jesus Christ. Although I'm not Greek Orthodox (the main branch of Christianity practiced in the southern Greek-Cypriot community), I wanted to watch a long-practiced folk tradition that follows Epiphany church services all across Cyprus. When the service ends, there is a procession leading to the harbor, where the priest throws a small cross into the sea, symbolically baptizing it, and young men dive in to retrieve it for the priest. It's a contest of sorts! I was hoping to see this ceremony in Limassol, but it was cancelled at the last minute because the weather was stormy and the sea was too rough. Still, there were several men, both young and middle aged, swimming about in the harbor, ready despite the inclement conditions.
