It is churchgoers from the two rival churches of Panagia Ereithiani and Angios Marcos, which are 400 meters apart, who during the Orthodox Easter midnight mass fire homemade fireworks at each other’s church bells, writes Reuters.
The rocket firing takes place at the same time as the Easter Mass is taking place inside the churches. And the church that gets the most hits on the rival church’s bells wins.
Old tradition
The tradition goes back several generations, writes Reuters. According to legend, islanders in the 19th century, during the Ottoman Empire, fired gunpowder-filled cannons during the Christian Easter celebration. It was a competition between the parishioners of the same two churches to see who had the most impressive cannons.
However, the cannons are said to have been confiscated by Ottoman rulers as they were afraid they would be used in a revolt. They were therefore replaced with less harmful rockets.