Two dead and another maimed during Easter firework celebrations in Greece

For some Easter is a time for quiet contemplation but for Greeks, it's explosive.

In Vrondados, a small village on the Aegean island of Chios, the parishioners of two churches engage in a mock rocket war, firing hundreds of rockets at each other.

According to the annual tradition, the side that hits the bell tower of the other church first is the winner - but the two sides never agree on who the real victor is, so the ritual has to be repeated the following year.

The traditions stem from the Ottoman occupation, when Greek were not allowed to celebrate the Greek Orthodox Easter.

Many Greeks celebrate midnight mass on Easter Sunday with fireworks but the custom has proved to be dangerous for some. In Kalamata, a 25-year-old man lost both his hands and his eyesight while firing fireworks shortly after the Easter Mass.

In a separate tragic accident two men were electrocuted while throwing fireworks.

The men, aged 23 and 26, from Kalamata, were reportedly throwing firecrackers at an electrical wire in a school yard on Easter Friday, Greek Reporter reports.

One of the men was holding an electrical cable as they threw the firecracker, causing the electrocution and killing them instantly.