Saint John’s day
The Roumanis residence
The ancient custom of Klidonas remains one of the most popular until our days. Every year, the custom takes place on June 23nd, the day before St John’s name day, and continues until the next morning. The custom has its roots in Antiquity and derives from the Homeric word “Klidon” which means the sound of a prophetic sign. Every year, on the eve of Saint John's day, it was customary to light fires in every neighborhood all over the country in order to burn along with branches the flower wreaths of the 1st of May and pass over the fires. In particular, people jumped three times over the fire, aiming to see who jumped higher. That time, in the settlement, this first part of the custom was taking place outside the house of the head of the dam. Then, on the same night, young girls were taking pitchers to fill them with the so-called "silent" water that took its name because the girls should not laugh nor talk to anyone despite the teasing they received. The custom of Klidonas presents variations in every region of Greece. For instance, when the girls brought the pitcher filled with silent water to their house, they had to put inside personal items such as rings or they had to put the pitcher under the moonlight hoping for the revelation of an omen according to which the name of their future husband would be known to them.
As seen on
Marathon dam: Life at the settlement
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