Subject: Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-01-06 From: "HR-Net News Distribution Manager" CONTENTS [01] Greeks celebrate Epiphany and the blessing of the waters [02] New cold snap with low temperatures, snow throughout Greece --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [01] Greeks celebrate Epiphany and the blessing of the waters Undeterred by a cold front working its way across the country from the north and the generally unsettled weather, Greeks turned out in good numbers to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany on Friday, while many braved the freezing waters and dived after the cross during the various ceremonies to bless the waters, including in one instance an eight-year-old girl. Despite strong winds, the ceremonies went smoothly on most of the Aegean islands, while on Rhodes a young woman called Eleni Karagianni stole the show when she beat her male rivals to recover the cross from the stormy seas. A notable exception was Iraklio on Crete, where the ceremony in the city's Venetian Harbour was cancelled due to a torrential downpour and held in the Cretaquarium instead. In spite of this, some swimmers dove into the harbour anyway and formed a symbolic human "cross" instead. Three swimmers defied temperatures of -4C to dive after the cross in Lake Kastoria in northern Greece, four at Lake Polyfytos in Kozani, while 10 young Roma men observed the tradition by diving into the frozen waters of the Sakouleva River in Florina in light snowfall. [02] New cold snap with low temperatures, snow throughout Greece Temperatures are expected to plummet throughout the country over the weekend, as a cold snap starting in northern Greece works its way south to blanket the entire country, including the islands of the Aegean and Crete. Temperatures on Saturday are expected to be near or below freezing, with the most severe cold forecast in the north and eastern parts, which have been in the grip of a cold snap since the first snowfall on Thursday night. Vehicles needed snow chains to negotiate the roads in several parts of the country on Friday, while more snow is expected to fall on Saturday.