The Monastery of Panagia Olympiotissa, the most important monastery in North Thessaly, though somewhat afar from the main mass of Olympus, is intertwined with the mountain’s name, history, and traditions. According to tradition, the miraculous icon of Panagia Olympiotissa was transferred for safety reasons to the current monastery in Elassona from an old Byzantine monastery in Karya, a historic, mountainous town in the SE side of Olympus. The inhabitants of Olympus, to this day, consider the icon of Panagia Olympiotissa their protector, and venerate it with heart-warming events. Back in the day, the townsfolk of Karya would head to the monastery on foot, and bring the icon to their town, considered to be the monastery’s first seat, on the 15th of August. The people of the town would keep the icon in their homes for blessing and aid up until the 23rd of August. After that, it would travel and be hosted around all the villages of Olympus until October. The tradition of carrying the icon to the village of Azoros takes places on the 7th of January, during the Feast of St. John the Baptist. The icon is transferred by car to a nearby river, from where it is hosted by hand and carried in a two kilometre procession to the village church, where it is hosted for a few days and brought from house to house to render its blessing. Adapted to modern means of transportation, this tradition of venerating the icon of Panagia Olympiotissa, as well as the custom of hosting it in the various villages around Olympus, is held up to this day.
