Marmaketo

Every year, on May 8, the day of Saint John the Theologian (the Apostle), crowds of believers from all over Crete arrive at the small village Marmaketo, at Lasithi Plateau, to participate in the annual miracle of Marmaketo. At the main church of St. John the Theologian, on Good Friday, begins a customary process that ends at the feast day of St. John: On Good Friday, morning, the women of Marmaketo gather some wild orchids, called violes (Easter flowers).

They then meet at the church and decorate the Epitaph with these orchids, along with various other flowers from their gardens. On Saturday morning, Easter flowers are hung on wires inside the church, where they are set to dry. On Saint John's Day, 8 May, the dried flowers bloom again during the time of the gospel! Believers get them from wires as an amulet and curious gets them in order to confirm the miracle.