A tradition that has surpassed a century in Xanthi, Greece is the blessing of the waters and cross throwing ceremony off of the Kosinthos Bridge in the Samakov district.
The first photograph above shows the ceremony as it took place in 1900, when the bridge was first being constructed. The second photo shows the same a few years later in 1911. In 1912 the famous bridge collapsed after a major flood, but was soon rebuilt with a similar format. The third photo shows the ceremony in 1927, then the fourth takes place in the late 1940's, some years before the new current bridge was built. The last two photos were taken by a man from the same place 83 years apart - the first in 1930 and the second in 2013. The video shows the celebration of Theophany from 2012. (Click on photos to enlarge)
