Ανθόνερο ή ροδόσταγμα - Citrus water or Rose water

Rosewater was placed in merréhes (myrohóes) and used in many religious and social events. At the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (14 September) the cross was sprinkled with rosewater, while on Good Friday the epitaph was sprinkled with rosewater too. Furthermore, when villagers would be invited to a wedding, they would be sprinkled with the rose water; as well as the couple while going to the church for the wedding and also the guests after the wedding ceremony (Chatzikyriakou 2011, 110-111).

Rosewater was prominent in wedding customs: Brides used rosewater as perfume on their wedding day. In some villages, the parents of a couple, while blessing them would sprinkle them with rosemary. When the groom would enter the bride's house, his mother-inlaw would also sprinkle him with rosewater. In some villages, on Monday following the wedding, the newlyweds would stand before a table with treats and sprinkle rosewater on the guests who would come to congratulate them. Before the wedding, on Saturday, the groom's family would invite the in-laws and the bride to the table sprinkling them with rosewater. Two girls would go around the village and invite women, sprinkling them with rosewater, to gather and help in its preparation of ressi, a traditional wedding dish in Cyprus. When they were going to organise the antigamo (gathering after the wedding), they still had to offer their guests a treat. In some villages, the groom would treat the guests to a drink with nuts and the bride would sprinkle them with rose water. The newlyweds would go around to greet their guests and receive their wishes, sprinkling them with rosewater (for the above customs, see. Protopapa 2005, vol. B, 53, 85, 94, 202, 295, 340, 392, 399). Rose water or citrus water was used predominantly when inviting guests to the wedding ritual: Rosewater was used when the parents of the couple would go from house to house to invite their friends and relatives to their children's wedding. (Mavrokordatos 2003, 329). A very common way of inviting people to weddings was holding a myrrh pot to sprinkle the hands of the guests with rose water when saying the phrase "come to the wedding". In the myrrh pot they carried rose water from wild roses (roodostemman), water from citrus flowers (aththoneron), blossoms or essences of other aromatic herbs. In the village of Polystypos they would invite guests giving glistarkes and rose distillate. While the guests were given the glistarka, they would be sprinkled with rosewater. In some villages of Mesaoria, while the groom's family would invite guests treating them to wine and holding a candle, the bride's family would invite them to the wedding with rosewater. In Agios Vasilios, they also would invite with candle, wine and koumoulo while sprinkling the guests with rosewater.

In Pyroi and Strogilos they would invite with a drink, wine and nuts, while at the same time they would sprinkle the guests with rosewater. In some areas, rosewater was also used during the invitation to an engagement ceremony. A woman representing both families, who had a silk handkerchief attached to her, would carry the rodóstemma in the villages of Kythrea and Metochi. Rosewater was also used while inviting for the preparation of the wedding bed. The bride's bath was a customary since ancient times and always had a ritual character. The ritual could take place, in the bride's home or the maid of honour's home or in a public bath in the presence of a group of women. In Nicosia and its surroundings they would bath the bride in a public bath. On the way back, the bride was covered with a red cloth and accompanied by the maid of honour and the best man's wife. The people would sprinkle rosewater and the violinist would accompany her (for the above customs, see. Protopapa 2005, vol. A, 293, 308, 311, 313-314, 317, 319-327, 337, 342).

Rosewater was also used when preparing the bed of the newlyweds: 'It was customary for the mother of the bride to take a merreha with rosewater and go around the bed three times (Mavrokordatos 2003, 331).

Apart from rosewater, the bride could not wear any other perfume or cologne as the priest would not accept to carry on with the weeding (Mavrokordatos 2003, 333).

Rosewater was used to wash babies’ eyes (Hadjikyriacou 2011, 110-111).