The Anastenaria (Bulgarian: Нестинарство, Greek: Αναστενάρια) is a traditional fire-walking ritual performed in some villages in Northern greece and Southern Bulgaria. The communities which celebrate this ritual are descended from refugees who entered Greece from Eastern Thrace following the Balkan Wars of 1911–12 and the exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey in 1923. The Anastenaria are Orthodox Christians, however – in addition to the church rituals – they observe a unique annual ritual cycle, which begins on October 26 and ends on August 15 every year.

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