May 1st is not only a day to commemorate and honour the historic struggles by workers and the labour movement, but also a day to celebrate and welcome spring and the rebirth of nature. One of the most popular greek traditions on May 1st (Protomagia) is to decorate the houses - mainly the doors - with flower wreaths as a way of bringing closer the power, the beauty and the blessing of the new season.
The custom of Protomagia has its roots in ancient Greece and despite the changes through the years it’s still alive. From ancient Greece to Byzantium and then all over Europe many festive celebrations and rituals took place on this special day, mainly dedicated to the goddess of fertility and agriculture Demeter and her daughter, Persephone.
Nowadays, the custom of Protomagia is more a form of an occasion for being closer to nature, having time outdoors or going to the fields to pick those wild flowers that will make our wreath look better than the last year’s. It’s a day that gives us a chance to spend some time with our family and friends. Beautiful wreaths are also sold in flower shops but some of us keep following the traditional way and make our own wreath, enjoying the whole …ritual and testing our creativity, our imagination and our and skills.
The wreath is made in a circle of various - mainly wild - flowers, handpicked from the garden or the fields and knitted together. The flowers are usually placed on the wreath against a background of green leaves. They decorate the doors, the entrances or the balconies and according to tradition they are burnt in a large fires that light in the streets and squares the evening of June 23, the eve of St. John the Harvester.
If you are visiting our country and find yourself on June 23 in front of one of these fires, don't forget to pass over it three times. The tradition says that it brings good luck and health! Who knows…
