TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — When John Lulias looks back on his upbringing in Tarpon Springs, he remembers feeling like he lived in a Greek village.

What You Need To Know

  • The 118th annual Epiphany takes place on Saturday, Jan. 6 in Tarpon Springs

  • The celebration is one of the oldest traditions in Tarpon Springs

  • John Lulias has been participating in Epiphany since he was two years old

  • While crowds have grown over the years, Lulias says much of the tradition remains the same

“Wherever you went, everybody spoke Greek,” he said. “The vegetable man would come around in his truck to your house, we delivered bread to the homes — it was those kinds of things you had in Greece.”

Lulias, a second generation Greek-American, still sees the close-knit, unique town he grew up in as he walks through Tarpon Springs today.

“Of course it’s changed,” he said. “But every place has and we try to keep part of the old spirit of Tarpon Springs, especially with some of these religious celebrations.”  

One of the town’s oldest traditions is Epiphany. For more than a century, crowds have descended on Tarpon Springs every January for the celebration. Epiphany is a constant in Lulias’ life. He’s been participating since he was just two years old and is now the choir director at Saint Nicholas Cathedral.

John Lulias with his mother and a family friend at Epiphany in the 1950s. (Photo courtesy: John Lulias)


“It’s also a homecoming,” Lulias explained. “Many people come back to Tarpon Springs on Epiphany day to see friends that have moved away and things like that, so it’s a wonderful thing for families to get together and celebrations all over town.”

To Lulias, the meaning behind the festivities is the most important part. In the Greek Orthodox faith, Epiphany commemorates the baptism of Jesus Christ. The day begins with a mass at Saint Nicholas Cathedral, followed by a procession down to Spring Bayou, where thousands of spectators gather for the cross dive.

“It’s a symbolic thing where they throw the cross and boys dive in and the one who retrieves it, it’s supposed to bring them luck for a year,” Lulias explained. “To many of the boys who have caught it, it’s changed their lives.”

One of those boys is Lulias’ older brother, Nikitas. He retrieved the cross 50 years ago and is now the Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain.

Lulias has watched Epiphany in Tarpon Springs grow and transform over the decades. What started as a small gathering in the Greek Orthodox Church has grown into the largest Epiphany celebration in the Western Hemisphere, attracting up to 20,000 people each year.

John Lulias in Greek folk costume performing at the Glendi celebration during Epiphany 1987. (Photo courtesy: John Lulias)


In some ways, though, Epiphany feels the same as when Lulias was a kid.

“A lot of it hasn’t changed,” he said. “The services are the same, the choir, the priest, the Archbishop coming every year — because this is where it’s sort of the official celebration of epiphany in the United States, so the Archbishop of the United States comes here to celebrate.”

As Epiphany continues to draw in curious spectators, Lulias hopes people hold on to the true meaning. He looks forward to keeping the beloved tradition a staple in his life for years to come.

Lulias’ brother, Archbishop Nikitas, will be returning to Tarpon Springs for the 118th Epiphany celebration, in honor of his 50-year anniversary of retrieving the cross.