Anastenaria Fire Walking in Langadas

The Anastenaria fire walking in Langadas near Thessaloniki is a traditional ritual. This event takes place in small villages in the North of Greece and Bulgaria.

This event of barefoot fire-walking traces back to the Balkan Wars of 1911 and 1912. The history of this ritual is full of mystery. Even though, not a lot is sure about the origins, but the most common belief is that it originates from a fire at Kosti near the Black Sea. Supposedly this fire set a church ablaze, and the villagers claimed to hear cries of icons coming from the flames. As the story goes, villagers went in and rescued the icons. None of them were burned while doing so.

On the first night of this event, people come together and dance to the sounds of drums until there reaches a trance-like state. After that, on the next morning, you will see the villagers will head to a well with holy water. You will witness them receiving blessings while they are sacrificing animals. After that, they will head to the main square and walk barefoot over the fire. You’ll be amazed about this strange but interesting ritual.

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