SHIHAB RATTANSI, CNN ANCHOR: On Saturday, an annual celebration begins in Cyprus. The six-day event features parades, parties, and activities for the young and old alike. Cyprus' CyBC takes a closer look at this festive.</s>COSTAS YENNARIS, CYBC REPORTER (voice-over): Fifty days after Easter, the Greek Orthodox church celebrate the communication of almighty Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. Celebrations last for three days, a welcome break just before the long hot summer days begin. No wonder these celebrations are completely identified with water, and festivities of all sorts are traditionally held in coastal towns. But even in inland towns, people -- especially kids, of course -- play all sorts of games involving water, such as water fights, where everyone is trying to wet everyone else, as it is considered to be bad luck not to get wet on these days. As in so many other cases, these celebrations derive from antiquity, and later were in fact incorporated into Christianity. Celebrations are more inclined toward popular events rather than religious. In fact, some sort of a competition between coastal towns has developed over the years as to which town will organize the best events, which include concerts by traditional and contemporary artists. Some competitions, especially the chatista (ph), a form of dialogue between competitors by making up songs on traditional tunes as they go long. What has become part of tradition are the roving vendors that set up their little stands to promote and sell their goods. Years ago, this was an opportunity for the producers themselves to come along and sell their goods, which included -- and still do -- all sort of traditional produce such as dry fruits and grape by-producing. The various competitions were different then. There was swimming competitions, sailing competitions, and for the family and those not taking part in sailing competitions, organized
Annual Celebration Begins in Cyprus