The Cretans love to celebrate and there is almost
always a feast somewhere. Often it is related to the feast day of
one of the saints, a wedding or baptism and it is always an occasion
for eating, drinking and having a good time. The
most important Cretan and Greek feast is Easter.
Everybody tries to come back to their island to celebrate Easter
with their family.
After a fasting period of 49 days, the Easter celebrations start with a midnight
mass on Saturday night to commemorate the resurrection of Christ. Everyone
lights a candle and calls "Christos anesti" (Christ is resurrected)
and a large bonfire is lit on every village square (or in front of the church)
and the effigy of Judas is burnt. Afterwards, people return to their house
to eat and break their fast.
The dates for Orthodox Easter follow the use of the Julian calender
and the dates may vary from the other christian Easter dates.
Greek Easter dates for the coming
years: 2008: 27th April, 2009: 19th April, 2010: 4th April.
Other significant feast
Epiphany 6th
January in remembrance of the baptism of Christ.
Carnival marks the
beginning of the fasting period prior to Easter. There are carnival
processions in the cities. The best known are in Rethymnon, Souda
and Chania.
Annunciation 25th
March. It is also a feast in remembrance of the revolt of 1821 against
the Turks
Feast of St. George 23rd
April. Saint George is one of the most important saints in the orthodox
religion, the patron saint of shepherds and peasants but also the
military
May Day 1st of May.
Spring festival where people drive out in the countryside, pick flowers
and make wreaths to hang over their
house doors. Many Cretans take their first swim in the sea on this
day (but this is, I believe, a modern phenomenon).
21st May Around this
date several ceremonies take place in the province of Chania to commemorate
the invasion of Crete by the Germans in 1941 and the Cretan resistance.
Feast of Saint John the Baptist 24th
June. Birthday of Saint John the Baptist as well as summer solstice.
Name day of the Prophet Elias 20th
July Many chapels built on peaks and hills are dedicated to the prophet
Elias. He is also seen as the christian incarnation of
the sun god Helios (note the similarities in names).
Assumption Feast of the Panagia 15th
August. It is the most important feast of the year after Easter and
an occasion for big celebrations.
Oxi Day Greek national day 28th
October. Commemorates the "No" (Oxi) of the Greek government
to the capitulation ultimatum of Mussolini in 1940. An occasion for
military and school parades.
17th November Rememberance
of the bloody supression of a student uprising at the Polytechnique
University of Athens by the military junta in 1973. It is also seen
as the beginning of the end for the fascist regime in Greece.
Saint Nicholas 6th
December. An important day as Saint Nicholas is the patron of sailors
and seamen.
Christmas is far less
significant in Greece than Easter but the commercial aspects of Christmas
are becoming more and more visible every year.
New year is a small
family celebration but nowadays people also go out at midnight
to light fireworks or, in regions such as Sfakia, to celebrate the
new year with gun fire (and more and more salvos of assault weapons).
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