Easter firework 'rocket war' tradition dazzles on Greek island

Record ID: 1816133

  • Title: Easter firework 'rocket war' tradition dazzles on Greek island
  • Date: 5th May 2024
  • Summary: VRONTADOS, CHIOS, GREECE (MAY 4 & 5, 2024) (REUTERS) (NIGHT VIEWS) (PART MUTE) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE PREPARING THE ROCKETS MAN CARRYING ROCKETS ARRIVING VARIOUS OF ROCKETS BEING SET UP ROCKETS FIRING FROM THEIR LAUNCH PAD ROCKETS IN THE NIGHT SKY COMING FROM VARIOUS DIRECTIONS ROCKETS IN THE NIGHT SKY WITH CHURCH IN BACKGROUND/ AUDIO OF BELLS DRONE VIEW OF ROCKETS (MUTE) V
  • Embargoed: 19th May 2024 08:59
  • Keywords: CHIOS EASTER GREECE ROCKETS TRADITION
  • Location: VRONTADOS, CHIOS, GREECE
  • City: VRONTADOS, CHIOS, GREECE
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Europe,Editors' Choice
  • Reuters ID: LVA001965902052024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The night sky of Vrontados, on the Greek island of Chios, lit up with streams of light shooting from either side of two rival churches during the annual 'rocket war', an old Greek Easter tradition that starts around midnight on Saturday (May 4 and 5).
    During the Orthodox Easter midnight mass service residents attending services at two separate churches fire handmade firework-like rockets at each other's steeples, unleashing thousands of rockets into the night sky.
    The church goers from Panagia Erithiani and Saint Mark start by lining up the rockets on opposite hills of the town which they then fire at each others churches whilst the faithful attend Easter mass inside.
    The handmade rockets, made out of sulphur and gunpowder, are prepared months ahead.
    The highly popular spectacle, a highlight for tourists and Greek visitors, had paused for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic but returned in 2023.
    The tradition goes back generations. Legend has it that in the 1800s, when Greece was under the Ottoman occupation, island locals would fire powder filled cannons during the Christian Easter celebrations holding a contest between the parishioners of the same two churches to see who had the most impressive cannons. But in 1889 Ottoman rulers confiscated the cannons, fearing they would be used in a revolt against the occupiers. The cannons were then replaced with less harmful rockets.
    (Production: Konstantinos Anagnostou, Alkis Konstantinidis)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register