Every year on January 6th, a small city in Florida near Clearwater, named Tarpon Springs has one of the largest celebrations of Epiphany.
Epiphany celebrates the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River over 2000 years ago! I remember attending this many times as my Uncle Spiro would be leaving not too far from Tarpon Springs. This celebration is one of the largest in the United States as it draws thousands and thousands of people. Over 40 young men are chosen to dive into a Spring Bayou for a cross that is thrown by the Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church. This person is on the same level of the Catholic pope. Similar to the Vasilopita I wrote about in my blog for December 30, 2016, the young man who finds the cross in the murky waters is said to have good luck for the year! After this event, a huge glendi is enjoyed by all.
Watch the video to see last year’s winner of the cross.