Nestinarstvo

Sotirios Gkaintatzis danced across burning coals, his stomping bare feet raising sparks and puffs of smoke as he held aloft an icon of Saints Constantine and Helen.

Gkaintatzis is the leader of a group of "anastenaria" - the devotees of St. Constantine who celebrate these centuries-old rites in a smattering of small villages near Thessaloniki, in northeastern Greece.

For the first time, residents and guests of the city had the opportunity to experience the fiery magic of 'nestinarstvo' in the heart of the Sea Garden, said the press office of Burgas Municipality. 

A festival in the Bulgarian town of Koprivshtisa has been included as intangible cultural heritage of UNESCO, the UN cultural body, the organization says.

Thursday, May 21, may feel as though half of Greece is celebrating because everyone knows a Constantine (Costas, Costis, Dinos) or Helen (Eleni, Elena, Konstantina, Dina, Lena etc) whose feast day it is on Thursday.