Every year at Easter, the war -like conditions of Chios rule on the Greek Aegean island: two neighboring churches traditionally deal with fireworks rockets at that time. No harmless undertaking: in the past there is injured and death with the spectacle.
The night sky above the village of Vrontados illuminates the strange adapted taghell when tens of thousands of rockets fly to the “opposite” church. The spectacle attracts countless tourists every year – but it is by no means harmless.
The tradition is called “Rouketopolemos”, which translates as “Rocket War”. Believers shoot at the church tower of the neighboring church. The fireworks that are used are partially built.
In this post a video of the “Rocket War” is shown before Easter:
Real guns were shot in the past
The habit must go back to the 19th century when Greece was still under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Before relatively harmless fireworks missiles were used, real guns were shot until 1889. The origin of this bizarre spectacle is no longer clearly understandable, the “rules” are fairly simple: the supporters of the two churches Aghios Marko and Panaghia Erithiani, who are 400 meters of the Kerk, “Tester” opponents.
The purpose of the campaign: the Kerkbel must be hit as often as possible and brought to ringing. A maximum of 80,000 rockets fly through the night sky during this tradition. However, many residents of Vrontados can only win a little. During the bitter firefight there are always injuries and even dead.
Houses must be barricaded
The Easter tradition for villagers who live in the immediate vicinity of the areas of worship is particularly bad. These try to nail their houses with shelves and thus protect them against lost rockets. Although the campaign is actually officially forbidden, a signal and the rocket struggle starts every year at 10 p.m. Many residents of Vrontados prepare for these adjusted months in advance and build up the rockets themselves.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
