August 15, Dekapentavgoustos or the Day of the Virgin is one of the most important days in our calendar, comparable to Christmas or Easter. In the religious life, it’s the culmination of a 15-day commemoration of Virgin Mary, or Panagia (“All-Holy”) “falling asleep” and being carried off to Heaven by her Son. The island of Tinos (also part of the Cyclades, our Aegean archipelago) hosts a mass pilgrimage from every corner of Greece and beyond, as its icon of Panagia is said to have healing properties.
On Santorini, Virgin Mary is an especially important folk helper, healer and protector, with more than 70 chapels and churches dedicated to her, often following reports of miracles like holding storms and toxic volcanic fumes at bay. To see a big celebration, go to Panagia Platsani in Oia or Panagia Episkopi in Episkopi Gonia (also known as Mesa Gonia), where miraculous icons are also housed, but many prefer smaller, more remote and/or family chapels, where some fava, cheese and tomatoes would be shared with your loved ones.
On this day, the Virgin listens to prayers from hospital patients and all the sick and alone, an especially important source of comfort in hard times such as these.
Last but not the least, it’s the name day for all the Greek Marias, especially the married ones—and as the name is so popular in our country, it’s always a shared experience. Finally, it falls in the middle of the vacation month, when many professionals traditionally take some time off to visit their historic villages, where many of us still have their roots.
