Watch These Two Churches Go to Battle with Fireworks

This article was originally published on June 30, 2015, but we think it still rocks!

File this under: Best Traditions Ever. On the tiny island of Chios, in a village known as Vrontados, a war rages between the Saint Mark and Virgin Mary Erethianis churches. On Holy Saturday for more than 100 years, while mass is observed within the churches, a barrage of rockets is launched into the night sky. "A war to keep the peace," says Variable, the filmmakers behind ROCKET WARS, a new documentary on the so-called Rouketopolemos .

"This film is a reflection of a sense of devotion that feels lost in the modern world," the filmmakers explain. "Seeing people with so much passion for the craft and tradition of rocket-making was invigorating to witness while filming." The film details the firing of over 100,000 homemade rockets in the simulated Easter weekend war, each sent with the intent of striking the opposing church's bell. "We're all after something we can give our lives to, something that can help create deeper connections with each other. It's strange to think that this tradition can do it — but that's a reality for many in Vrontados. They live and breathe rockets, and that's what brings them together."

While the suggested origins of Rouketopolemos range from it being an Ottoman tradition once performed with real cannons, to the reenactment of a fake civil war staged to keep the occupying Turks out, as the filmmakers describe, amid turbulent and uncertain times in the region, ROCKET WARS shows that the fires of tradition still roar on.

Click here for Variable's website, and visit them on Twitter for more.

Related:

Strapping Fireworks to Your Legs and Breakdancing: An Awesome, Really Dangerous Idea

Watch 300 Rockets Explode to Dirty British Punk

Fireworks + Drones = Today's Best Light Paintings

How to Make Gorgeous Images with Fireworks and Photo Paper