Anastenaria, Agia Eleni, Serres, Greece. May 2005. Αναστενάρια, Άγια. Ελένη Σερρων. Μάιος 2005.

A video compiled from footage I took during the celebrations of Saints Constantine and Helen at Agia Eleni, Serres, Greece.

Timeline for those who want to skip right to the firewalk:
00:00 - 05:11 Building and tending to the fire
05:12 - 08:50 Procession around the fire
08:52 - 19:00 Blessing the coals, and firewalk
note: external lights turn off at 11:09 *
19:00 - 24:03 Firewalks winds down, dancing around the embers and going back to the konaki
24:04 - 24:08 Chacking out the still burning embers
24:09 - 24:26 Back at the Konaki, sharing the stragalia gathered during daytime processions(not seen in this video)
24:27 - 24:39 Counting the money/funds doanted, will be used to pay the musicians, purchase candles, pay for the sheep (not seen in this video)
24:40 -25:11 Sharing the communal meal
25:12 - 'Ritual' washing/cleansing of the hands after meal.

This is just a small part of the 3 day festival that is full of interesting customs. The most famous one being the 'firewalking', where the participants tread over hot coals through the power of Saint Constantine.

This video shows the building of the bonfire; the laying out of the hot coals; the procession from the konaki to the site; the blessing of the fire; the walking/dancing/treading over the coals; the dancing around the fire afterwards and back to the konaki; the counting of the money/funds raised; sharing the 'stragalia' that was gathered during earlier processions around the village; sharing of a meal; 'ritual' washing of the hands afterwards.

If people are interested I will upload more videos showing different customs from this wonderful event.

All my thanks go out to the people and friends in Agai Eleni for giving me inside views and insights to what was happening.

May the strength and power of Saint Constantine help to keep this tradion alive into the future.

Demetri uploaded on the fest of Saints Constantine and Helen 2022