The festival of the Discovery of the Holy Icon of the Virgin Mary is the “Great Day” of the island. The celebration commences in the evening with vespers held in the church of Evreseos, to which the miraculous icon is moved. The next morning, a mass takes place in the main temple, and at 2.30 pm – the exact time of the discovery – a procession of the Holy Icon takes place in the city along the same path the inhabitants followed on the 30th of January 1823.
The celebration ends with a traditional reception at a hotel in Tinos. At the reception and nearby taverns and restaurants, one can enjoy the island’s local cuisine. Tinos traditional dishes are artichokes cooked in a variety of ways, sun-dried tomatoes with batter, froutalia, savore with molasses, fried fish with petimezi sauce, pork sausages, the saltsisi, and the louza of Tinos. Cheeses include the famed Graviera and Kopanisti. As for sweets, the famous ones are amygdalota, xerotigana, karidota, pasteli, loukoumi, and various kinds of halva, as well as the renowned thyme honey of Tinos.
On the ground floor within the Church of Evangelistria is the temple of the Evreseos (Discovery) or Zoodochos Pigi (Fountain of Life). The atmosphere is imposing, with vaulted lines, shaded light, candles, and icons of the saints. An aperture capped with silver marks the spot from which, in 1823, the miraculous icon appeared. Next to it is a marble fountain with holy water flowing from the spring that appeared during excavations to find the icon.
