Church Rocket War (Rouketopolemos) – Chios Island, Greece
Rouketopolemos, or the Church Rocket War, is one of the most unique festival in the world!
Where: Vrontados, Chios Island, Greece
When: Easter Sunday, annually.
Where To Stay: Chios Hotels
On the Greek island of Chios, is a small town called Vrontados with two churches – Agios Markos and Panagia Erithiani. Each Easter, members try to ring the opposite church bell. Only, they do it with rockets.
Tens of thousands of homemade rockets pass between these two churches that are separated by a ravine. The tradition dates back to the Ottoman period.
The rocket war generally begins during midnight services on Easter Sunday. Priests inside the churches deliver their sermons despite the 60,000 rockets soaring outside.
While direct hits on the church bells are said to determine a winner, usually no winner can be determined.
Have a suggestion for the Rouketopolemos Church Rocket War? Leave a comment below!
May I use your one of your photos in a blog about the Rocket War? Can I just credit http://www.worldfestivaldirectory.com?
It’s for a blog on http://www.adventurecollection.com.
Thanks!
Robin
Hi Robin, you can always credit the site, but to use the photo you’ll have to license it from http://www.123rf.com