Epiphany (holiday) the eve of Epiphany. The priest goes door to door with the cross and a branch of basil to "sanctify" or "brighten" the rooms by sprinkling them with holy water. The "protagiasi" casts away the goblins ; bonfires are also lit in some places for that purpose. The "Great Blessing" happens in church on the day of the Epiphany. . Then the "Dive of the Cross" is performed: a cross is throwned by the priest in the sea, a nearby river, a lake or an ancient roman cistern (as in Athens). According to popular belief, this ritual gives the water
Epiphany (holiday) Advent that will mark the following liturgical year. Some Protestant churches, such as the Anglican and Lutheran churches, will follow practises similar to the Catholic Church. Church cantatas for the Feast of Epiphany were written by Protestant composers such as Georg Philipp Telemann, Christoph Graupner, Johann Sebastian Bach and Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel. Many other Protestant groups do not celebrate or recognise Epiphany in any way. The name of the feast as celebrated in the Orthodox churches may be rendered in English as the Theophany, as closer in form to the Greek ("God shining forth" or "divine manifestation"). Here it is