The ancient Greek custom of "Klidonas" revived in neighborhoods across Athens in the weekend, offering residents an opportunity to get acquainted with fading traditions and have fun with people living next door by leaping over bonfires to "ward off evil", singing and dancing.

At Plato's Academy, inside the park where the great philosopher Plato was teaching his students more than 2,000 years ago, hundreds of locals gathered on Friday evening to celebrate the "fortune telling" festival for the 12th consecutive year, while similar feasts were held during the weekend in other districts of the Greek capital.

The name "Klidonas" originates from the ancient Greek word "klidon" which means sound of a prophetic sign. In modern Greek "klidi" means "key".

With pagan roots in ancient Greece, Klidonas was adapted to the Christian religion, survived through the centuries, and is still celebrated with variations in parts of Greece, revelers at Plato's Academy told Xinhua.

In Athens in recent decades, as the city was getting larger and larger and people embraced a more westernized life style, the custom almost died until cultural clubs across Athens' municipalities started breathing new life into Klidonas.

Nowadays, Klidonas is celebrated on - or close to- June 24, on the birthday of Saint John the Baptist.

The celebration, which during the 20th century in villages across Greece was a kind of prophetic game for unmarried girls to discover their future husbands, has two stages.

On the eve of June 24, an unmarried girl carries water from the village's fountain in silence back to her home. All unmarried girls drop a lucky charm (an earring, a ring, a ribbon, a coin or an apple scratched with various marks for identification) in the clay pot which is sealed with a cloth and left outside under the stars during the night.

The next day the same girl carries the pot next to a large bonfire lit in the village's main square and as people jump over the fire she gives back to each of her friends their "treasures".

The girls learn of their "destinies" from the funny poems villagers recite before each item is taken out of the pot.

In the 21st century version of Klidonas which was revived at Plato's Academy, and other Athens neighborhoods, the "prophetic game" is not restricted to unmarried girls. Everyone can take part.

There is no single girl fetching water from the fountain or the river or lake anymore, but everybody wishing to participate can drop a personal item to the pot next to bonfire and play.

Today the "lucky charms" are key holders, a tiny toy, the wrapping of a chocolate bar, Stephanos Yanotis, one of the organizers of the feast at Plato's Academy explained.

Stephanos, Matina and other residents grew up near the park or other parts of Greece in the late 20th century celebrating the custom with their families and friends.

As the years went by and Klidonas was gradually forgotten in urban centers where everyone was focused on their careers and close circle of relatives and friends, they were missing the warmth of greeting the neighbors.

The revival of the custom was a chance to gather in a public space, get to know the neighbors, build relations and cultivate again the feeling of belonging in a group of people who care about their neighborhood.

The goal is to keep ignited the "flame of the tradition", pass it to next generations and recreate a bond between neighbors, Stephanos said, as children and grownups were playing "tug of war" and were enjoying themselves under the rhythm of music next to the bonfire.

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