July 4th fireworks are nothing when compared to this insane 100,000 homemade rocket war in the village of Vrontados, Greece. Two churches in the small village fire off rockets at each other on Holy Saturday and the spectacle of the mock war is incredible to behold. There are rockets blazing every which way in both directions and it’s beautiful.
It’s a tradition that has supposedly lasted 200 years. Variable, which filmed the short doc, explains a theory:
One theory holds that churches on the island faked a civil war during the Turkish occupation so they could celebrate Easter without being plagued by war. Accordingly the ruse worked, as the Turks kept a safe distance, allowing the villagers to attend Easter Mass.
