Annual Event: Anthesphoria Festival for Persephone as the Goddess of Vegetation

Anthesphoria took from the Greece words Anthe or Anthes as female form of Anthos meant flower and phoria that literally meant as 'to tolerate'. Anthesphoria is a regional flower festival in Italia dedicated to Persephone; also known as Prosperina, Kore, or Kata Chthonia, the Greek Goddess of vegetation, especially grain, and a wife of Hades; a ruler of underworld.

According to the Greece Mythology, origin of that festival was from the story of Persephone's kidnapping. Narrated, once upon a time, Hades; God of the Underworld fell in love to a beautiful Goddess of vegetation namely Persephone, when saw her picking flowers in a meadow. The God then carried her and brought her to the Underworld to marry her. 

Meanwhile, Demeter; mother of Persephone searched her everywhere. Demeter created a great drought to convince the other Gods to release Persephone from her husband. As the drought claimed more victims, Zeus sent Hermes to persuade Hades. Before Hades gave his lovely wife to Hermes, he put a pomegranate kernel in the girl's mouth; its divine taste would make her return to him. 

In other version also mentioned that Persephone could have been released if had not eaten anything, but she ate a pomegranate seed that Hades gave then as compromise, Persephone will be released but she had to return to her husband one-third of the year.

The festival held in Sicily, Italia and there is no exact day in calendar to rejoice, but as it held to celebrate the return of Persephone to the world of living, it usually held in summer or fall. John Murray (1875) explained in his book 'A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities' that the biggest thing of Anthesphoria was the participants should gather flowers by themselves and considered disgraceful if they get the flowers by purchasing them. People will make the flowers into garlands (crowns), wreaths, and decorations.

Cited from S. W. Williams' in his Journal titled 'The Anthesphoria of Ancient Greece' Vol. 7, page 

"Our thanksgiving festival we celebrate in the fall, after the ripened fruits of the year are gathered-the Anthlesphoria, the thanksgiving festival of the Greeks and of the Egyptians from whom it was obtained, was celebrated in the spring. Our picture represents the initiation during this festival of a young maid in the mysteries of the goddess, as celebrated at Thlebes, that wonderful city of ancient Egypt. Less grave than the Adonia, and less mystic than the Dionysia," 

says an eloquent writer, 

"but still containing a meaning deeper than a mere form, the Anthesphoria was the darling festival of the women, and one to which they crowded the most willingly. The same procession-one of flowers borne by women was made elsewhere to the honor of other divinities; as to Isis in Egypt, to Herd at Argos, and to Aphrodite at Cnossus." 

his addition. 

From these quotations, we know that people of this festival keep its sacredness although it usually held in a joy atmosphere. So, the belief values and esteeming purpose of this festival are kept well instead of just held as a folk party to getting fun.