Today we celebrated the Panaia and the first part of the Dendraia at HTAZP.
We processed to a chant of "Eo Pan!" while Hiereus Timotheos invoked Pan's many epithets. After thusia, we had theoxenia with one of Pan's statues joining us at the table.
During the meal of gyros, we took turns reading various hymns and poems to Pan. Some of the sources were The Homeric Hymns (translation by Apostolos N. Athanassakis), The Orphic Hymns (same translator), In Praise of Olympos - Prayers to the Greek Gods by Hearthstone, Out of Arcadia - A Devotional Anthology in Honor of Pan from Bibliotheca Alexandrina, New Prayers of Old Hellas by Chris Aldridge, and Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Hymn of Pan."
Afterwards, we pulled out Pan's tree and got it set up for the Dendraia (part 1). The Dendraia, like the Panaia, is a modernly developed festival. It has been split in two for a couple of reasons. First, there was a feeling that the Panaia needed a bit more, as a birthday celebration, and decorating Pan's tree fit well for that. Also, with the various secular pressures in December, we often would be lucky to meet once, never mind twice. And the second part of the Dendraia is now merged with the Kheimonia in recognition of the fact that it originated as a December festival.
Dessert consisted of various cream-filled pastries, including eclairs, crème horns, and lobster tails.
Hiereus Timotheos also offered divination with Pan towards the end of the festival.
Our next festival will be the Kheimonia/Haloa/Rural Dionysia/Dendraia (part 2) on 11 Kheimonion/December 11.
May the blessings of the Gods be with you!
