The ‘Kourbani’ is an annual public celebration. People present it as a pagan ritual that has been appropriated by the Orthodox Church. There are different narratives about its original form. Everybody in the village, however, agree that it pertained exclusively to the Greek speaking population of Anatoliki Romylia and that it historically entailed the ritual slaughtering of animals by the head of each family. During the last years it has been performed in various settings and on different dates inside the village. There are intense native debates as to the celebration's proper form. In 2011 the ‘Kourbani’ was performed for the first time around the church. Following an initial disappointment owing to heavy rain, most locals claimed that it was a successful celebration, pointing at the number of visitors’ cars as a marker of popularity. Various tensions emerged during the celebration however, regarding the priority and manner of performing activities such as the serving the food (boiled lamb and wheat),  singing and dancing. 

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