Feast of the Assumption

August 18, 2009 by host

If you’re ever in Tinos on 15 August, during the Feast of the Assumption, this is how it works:

First you buy a big towering candle to take up to the church with you. Buy one of the 5ft. candles for €3 to make sure God sees you.

greek-island-tinos-feast-of-assumption-candles

Buy a big one because we all know size matters.

Then you crawl on your hands and knees on a rubberized pad about a half mile uphill to the church:

greek-island-tinos-feast-of-assumption-crawl

Guy with cell phone needs to go away.

greek-island-tinos-feast-of-assumption-roma-woman

I feel her pain.

If you’ve done something super bad, or you really want God to know you’re serious, pick up some passengers along the way:

If your knees are too bloody to go on, crawl along on your arse. This is exactly how I would do it:

If you’re as serious as a heart attack, you could always drag yourself along on your stomach, half a mile up a stone street, like the woman below is doing:

I’ve been jesting, but honestly this kind of breaks my heart.

The icon in the church is said to have healing powers, but if this is true shouldn’t we all be there – crawling, bleeding, praying?

As an alternative to crawling, you could put on your finery and walk up to the church with as much dignity as you’re able to muster.

Accept your fate or do what you can to change it:

When the service is over, the Greek navy, police, and guys in suits and sunglasses escort the icon down the very same street everyone just busted their arses crawling up.