Greeks walk on fire using faith over fear

At a small shrine in northern Greece, locals clutching icons of Greek Orthodox saints dance to lyres and drums in preparation for a ceremony in which they will walk on fire barefoot.

"Anastenaria", celebrated at the end of spring in the village of Mavrolefki, commemorates the day, centuries ago, when believers say a church burned down in the village of Kosti, in modern-day Bulgaria.

Hearing the calls of Saints Constantine and Helen, villagers rushed into the fire and, unharmed, rescued their icons - paintings of holy figures that are held sacred in Eastern Orthodox religion.

As night falls in Mavrolefki, a fire built of long sticks is flattened into a circle of white-hot embers. Hundreds of spectators stand behind a fence to watch the few who dare to run across.

Devotees dance around a bonfire on Saint Constantine and Saint Helen's Day, which marks the...