Kalo Dekapentavgoustos!

The 15th August, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, is widely celebrated in Greece! It is the largest of all the summer 'Panigiri' or festivals and is second only to Easter in the Orthodox calendar. As the Name Day of the Virgin Mary, all churches that bear her name celebrate today. Panigiri are usually held in village squares outside the church, long trestle tables will be set up and eating, drinking and dancing will continue late into the night!

Throughout the summer each church will celebrate the Panigiri, or name day, of its patron saint. Some are small celebrations at little chapels, others large festivals attended by the whole village. Of them all the 15th August is traditionally the biggest. Most Greeks take their summer holidays over this period, the 15th is a public holiday, and many businesses close for a week or two. People traditionally leave the cities, as the heat becomes unbearable, and most will return to the village or island where the family originally lived.

Name Days are celebrated like birthdays in Greece, so anyone named Maria will also be honored today. As you can imagine this includes many Greek ladies! The 15th is also the name day of Panagiotis, which is a popular Greek mans name, often shortened to Takis or Panos.

This post was written by Tom Fletcher