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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-01-06
CONTENTS
[01] Greeks celebrate Epiphany and the blessing of the waters
[02] New cold snap with low temperatures, snow throughout Greece
[01] Greeks celebrate Epiphany and the blessing of the waters
Undeterred by a cold front working its way across the country from
the north and the generally unsettled weather, Greeks turned out in
good numbers to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany on Friday, while
many braved the freezing waters and dived after the cross during the
various ceremonies to bless the waters, including in one instance an
eight-year-old girl.
Despite strong winds, the ceremonies went smoothly on most of the Aegean
islands, while on Rhodes a young woman called Eleni Karagianni stole
the show when she beat her male rivals to recover the cross from the
stormy seas.
A notable exception was Iraklio on Crete, where the ceremony in the
city's Venetian Harbour was cancelled due to a torrential downpour and
held in the Cretaquarium instead. In spite of this, some swimmers dove
into the harbour anyway and formed a symbolic human "cross" instead.
Three swimmers defied temperatures of -4C to dive after the cross in Lake
Kastoria in northern Greece, four at Lake Polyfytos in Kozani, while 10
young Roma men observed the tradition by diving into the frozen waters
of the Sakouleva River in Florina in light snowfall.
[02] New cold snap with low temperatures, snow throughout Greece
Temperatures are expected to plummet throughout the country over the
weekend, as a cold snap starting in northern Greece works its way
south to blanket the entire country, including the islands of the
Aegean and Crete. Temperatures on Saturday are expected to be near or
below freezing, with the most severe cold forecast in the north and
eastern parts, which have been in the grip of a cold snap since the
first snowfall on Thursday night.
Vehicles needed snow chains to negotiate the roads in several parts of
the country on Friday, while more snow is expected to fall on Saturday.
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