According to the legend surrounding the springs of the city, during Byzantine times there was a small chapel dedicated to Saint Barbara at the site where the lake now lies. When the Turks conquered the city in 1380, they demolished the chapel and attempted to build a mosque in its place. However, through a miracle of Saint Barbara, the area flooded on the day of her feast, and the mosque was never completed.
From that moment on, Saint Barbara became the patron saint of Drama, and a new church was later built directly across from the lake, on the very ground where the foundations of the old chapel once stood—dedicated to the Saint who had protected it. Since then, every year on the 4th of December, the city of Drama honors the memory of its patroness.
This legend gave rise to the custom of the little boats, which survives in two distinct versions. The first version states that on the eve of Saint Barbara’s feast, after the procession, people would send a candle for the Saint on a small wooden plank, floating it toward the sunken chapel beneath the lake.
The second version is connected to the belief that Saint Barbara, apart from being the protector of artillery soldiers, was also the guardian of young girls—shielding them from gossip and helping their “good fortunes” in marriage. Thus, on the 3rd of December, during Vespers and just as night fell, unmarried girls would light candles on the eastern side of the lake. Some placed their candles on wooden planks and, together with a wish, set them afloat toward the submerged chapel of Saint Barbara.
The course of the floating plank on the lake was believed to reveal whether the wish would come true. If the candle went out, it was considered a bad sign—yet hope remained, because the next morning all the girls would return to the lake to wash themselves with the water that Saint Barbara had blessed the night before.
Many years have passed since then, and those times are long gone. Yet the custom of the candles on the lake has survived. Only now, the candles travel on small boats crafted by children’s hands, creating a beautiful and unique atmosphere. Whatever the weather—snow, rain, or bitter cold—every 3rd of December at dusk, the young “captains” proudly take their places and admire their little boats as they burn or drift away with the others…
The name of the area is closely tied to the church of Saint Barbara, the patron saint of Drama, which stands nearby. The present church was built in 1920 above the little lake. Its bell tower is reflected in the water, in the very spot where the old chapel is said to have once stood.
words from tradition
