Points of Light Needed to Unite Our Communities
There are those who highlight the deep division in our nation and conclude that it defines us. They say that a lack of respect is often shown to different opinions and backgrounds and complain that social media has accelerated the division within communities. And while much of that is true, there is hope for our nation, an opportunity to celebrate our common values alongside our different perspectives and cultural and religious traditions. For many years, I’ve seen first-hand how members of a single ethnic group can merge their American values with their ethnic heritage in communities nationwide.
Just look at the Greek Americans who live in and around Tarpon Springs, Florida. Tarpon Springs is home to one of the highest-profile religious observances in the nation, and a shining example of a diverse community whose members enjoy giving back and sharing their traditions with their neighbors.
Every year on January 6, Greek Americans celebrate the religious holiday called Epiphany, which honors the day that Christians believe Jesus was baptized, revealing himself as the son of God. And as I can attest, it’s celebrated in Tarpon Springs like nowhere else. The Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America sends a white cross spinning into the local bay, and every year, sixty to seventy young men go diving into the water, forming an ever-narrowing circle as they converge on the prize. Through the ceremony, the faithful are reminded of the baptism of Jesus Christ two thousand years ago, and each year, as the young man who finds the cross is blessed, the waters of Tarpon Springs are blessed by the Archbishop. Moreover, the first Greeks who came to the community are honored, and modern-day sailors are granted good blessings in the year to come.
When I made my own annual pilgrimage to Tarpon Springs this month, I reflected on the celebration. Every year, the best of the Greek American experience receives a very public showcase—yet a quintessentially American experience is on display, too.
On the day before the celebration, I walked through the city’s Greektown Historic District, passing scores of thriving restaurants, shops, sponge boats, and fishing boats, most of them owned by Greek Americans. These businesspeople, joined with local citizens and families, help define the community. When Greeks first started to journey to Tarpon Springs, they worked on the water as fishermen. Then, in the late 1800’s, as the city became a tourist spot for wealthy northerners, the sponge industry began to experience a boom, and Greeks converged in great numbers. They introduced the practice of sponge diving and formed the backbone of an industry.
In the early days of the Tarpon Springs Epiphany celebration, the fishermen and sponge divers would paint their boats the distinctive Greek colors of blue and white, attaching Greek and American flags to their mastheads. Today, tens of thousands of people from multitudinous backgrounds attend the yearly gathering. It is not only a religious service, it is also a community event. It brings together the community, and those from other parts of the state and the country and allows elected officials a chance to show their support. For instance, Tarpon Springs Mayor Vatikiotis released a proclamation stating that, “The City of Tarpon Springs has been identified by history and tradition as the city in the United States with the longest consecutive celebration of the Feast Day of Epiphany and home of the oldest and largest celebration in the United States.” And my friend, local congressman and national Greek-American leader, Gus Bilirakis touted Tarpon Springs as home to the largest Epiphany celebration in the Western Hemisphere. The most recent celebration was personal for him: the nephew of Liz Hittos, his chief of staff, found the cross in the water.
It has been a very long time since Clement of Alexandria gave the first written account of an Epiphany celebration in 215 A.D., but across time and space, continuity endures.
As Executive Director of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), I am proud to represent an organization that has participated in the Tarpon Springs celebration for over ninety-two years. AHEPA is a grassroots Greek American coalition that also counts many non-Hellenes among its members; its goal is to promote the best of what the American melting pot has to offer. We keep a foothold in downtown Tarpon Springs, through the AHEPA House, which is maintained for our neighbors and for the benefit of the larger community. It serves as a calm harbor, and as a meeting place for the leadership of AHEPA.
In Tarpon Springs, AHEPA works closely with other community groups, government officials, business leaders, and the media. From the million dollars that went into building the local church, to the money given to local Girl Scouts, AHEPA has always worked together with local communities to make a difference.
In fact, President George H.W. Bush cited AHEPA itself as one of America’s “thousand points of light” in his 1988 convention acceptance speech, and I am proud that AHEPA and its members were given this special recognition.
This year, at our annual AHEPA Epiphany banquet in Tarpon Springs, when the American Archbishop talked about the importance of unity, diversity, and service, it resonated with me, and those in attendance. Diverse does not mean divisive.
Our shared values transcend cultures, bind us together as Americans, remind us of our past, and launch us towards the future, through these often-tumultuous times.
Mr. Basil Mossaidis, Executive Director, The American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association
