This book is a systematic recording of folk rituals, doxologies, and customary practices in Crete. By folk rituals, the author refers to customary acts associated with popular worship and expressed through various events and symbolism throughout the year. It is a poetic and scientific approach to folk culture and the popular soul, documented through multidimensional research and impressive photographic material, mainly taken by the author himself during field research that began in his adolescence and early youth, in the 1970s.
Through folk rituals, ancient perceptions and ancient customary practices have survived, either intact or adapted to the religious, social, and economic conditions of each era.
Today, as folk ritual customs in Crete, as well as in many other regions, are in decline, this book is a valuable acquisition and a testimony of life. It is not only the descriptions, mostly the result of on-site research efforts, but also the author's penetrating gaze, seeking the origins, roots, religious extensions, and social content of popular worship as expressed in his homeland, Crete. However, the book acquires broader interest for the entire Greek culture, as it provides material for a more comprehensive approach to similar or parallel customary practices in Greek and the wider Mediterranean region.