The major religious feast day of the Dormition of the Theotokos, commemorating the repose in the Lord of the Virgin Mary on Aug. 15, is celebrated throughout Greece on Thursday – at the same time signaling the apex of the summer holiday season and a mass exodus of remaining urban dwellers to the provinces, the seaside and islands.
Theotokos in Greek means the “Mother of God” and is a ubiquitous expression of reverence and endearment for the Virgin Mary in the Eastern Orthodox Church’s liturgy and theology, both in the original Koine Greek, modern Greek and other languages.
The great feast day and public holiday is considered the second most important religious commemoration in the predominately Christian Orthodox nation after Easter (Holy Pascha), referred to in the long form as the Dormition of our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary.
Most SMEs in the greater Athens-Piraeus, Thessaloniki and other urban areas close before or on the afternoon before the holiday, while major highways, airports and ports witness the biggest traffic and passenger travel of the summer amid this period.
Most ferry boats departing from the large mainland port of Piraeus this week for various islands in the Aegean were fully booked. Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024.
August is also known for an appreciated hiatus from most political developments and debate in the east Mediterranean country, with office-holders, politicians, journalists and others taking a break.
The mid-August holiday season, however, isn’t extended to fire-fighters, first responders and civil protection personnel, as summertime in Greece is now plagued, on a yearly basis, with the scourge of wildfires. Only days ago, a major conflagration in northeast Attica prefecture scorched tens of thousands of acres of land, including precious forested areas, with flames reaching as far to the southeast as a handful of north Athens’ leafy upland municipalities.
