Paniyiri

The paniyiri has always puzzled me. It is a religious service, and seems to be one that people care about, judging from the long lines to light candles. 

Buying candles

Another line to go into the church.  We saw lines both days, until 11pm!

But the street fair seems not just utterly secular, with just a couple of stalls selling religious paraphernalia...icons, oil lights,  incense...but downright commercial. 

 

more icons

Icons, incense, worry beads

Not just a street fair, but one that sells particularly mundane things like an "as seen on TV" device to cut French fries or core a zucchini, cheap kitchen stuff, casual clothes, tee-shirts, shorts, socks and underwear cheaper than the Jumbo, knock off designer purses, some artful jewelry,  knock off sneakers, curtains, sheets. 

Knock off shoes. But the guy selling them sitting against the pole is wearing a very expensive Italian shirt that is a stolen college name... from Jeremiah's college.  They found an old Franklin and Marshall sweatshirt in a used clothing shop in  London and decided to make it their brand!

Knock off designer bags

General view of the crowds

And Greek fast food:  grilled corn on the cob, souvlaki, grilled sausage, loukoumades (donut holes), and halva.  

Lots of grilled corn  sales

Grilled corn plus popcorn!

How does the sacred become inextricably paired with the profane.?  This year, it hit me: it has always been this way in religiously homogeneous populations. Medieval fairs were like that, too.. a religious occasion that brought crowds brought entrepreneurs. Where religion is not a question, you don't need to cordon it off from regular life. Crowds of people mean sales.  And probably paniyiris got a boost from the crisis...people who cannot afford to buy things do when they are cheap.

some people were carrying large bags

I also don't understand how the event works within the neighborhood.  Many of the stores that line the streets close for the holiday (as did Deree).  I heard that local schools get out for the holiday too.  But all those visitors, and the stores are closed, but people are VERY busy shopping.  And the sellers are itinerant, mostly immigrants.  We saw people sleeping rough the night before against the side of a shopping center. Surely the shopping center did not want that?  It looked like a homeless encampment with a few big blankets laid out on the concrete in a sheltered area.  And they tie things to the poles -- does the city license and control where they go and how they use the local infrastructure?

String tied to trees and poles

Generators and trash everywhere