Festivals in Greece

Carnival, also known as Apokria, is a three-week festival before Greek Orthodox Easter. It also has connections to Dionysos, the ancient Greek god of wine and fertility. The Corfu Carnival is one of the most popular. Resembling the famous Venice Carnival – and thought to have originated when the Venetians conquered the island in the 13th century – it features a large parade, performers, elaborate costumes and Venetian-style masks. At the end, a float dedicated to the King of Carnival – said to carry the locals’ sins – is burnt in a bonfire amid a giant street party.

Orthodox Easter, or Pascha, can fall between April and May. It’s the biggest event of the year, with each day featuring different Orthodox traditions. On Holy Thursday, the traditional Easter bread, tsoureki, is baked with a red egg in the centre. Holy Friday is a day of mourning with church bells slowly ringing all day, and going into Holy Saturday just before midnight, the churches light up with candles as people begin chanting ‘Christos Anesti’, or ‘Christ rises’. Then, after church on Easter Sunday, there are street parties with spits of lamb, music and dancing.

Epiphany is a Christian holiday on 6 January that celebrates when the three Wise Men visited baby Jesus. Traditions vary, but throughout Greece, like in the ancient port of Piraeus, a local priest flings a crucifix into the sea and young men dive into the cold water to retrieve it. This ceremony, known as the Blessing of the Waters, is said to bring good fortune to whoever retrieves the cross. It’s performed by locals, but travellers are welcome to observe.

This annual summer arts festival offers the chance to experience classical Greek drama, modern theatre, opera and dance in ancient venues across Athens and the Peloponnese, including the Odeon of Herodes and Epidaurus theatre. Watching live performances among thousands of years of history on a balmy summer evening is one for the books.

In Aegina, pistachios are life. Pistachio fields cover the island, and the sale of these emerald nuts is vital to the local economy. So, it makes sense for the island to throw an annual festival at the end of the harvest in September. This four-day festival includes a trade fair, concerts, art exhibitions and foodie experiences to showcase this prized nut. If there’s ever a place to get your fill of pistachio-flavoured dishes and desserts, it’s here!

It’s not just romance that’s erupting in Santorini. The annual Ifestia Festival in September is dedicated to the volcano that shaped the island’s famous landscape after its eruption in 1646 BC. The explosion is estimated to have been 100 times more powerful than the eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii. The festival features live music and a huge fireworks display on the caldera rim, with sound and light effects representing the explosions.

The Athens Marathon in November is based on the legend of Pheidippides. Pheidippides, a Greek soldier, supposedly ran from the Battle of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over the Persians. It’s said that he ran the 40-odd kilometres without a break, eventually collapsing and dying once he had delivered his message. Today, the running event follows the original route of Pheidippides, starting in Marathon and ending in the Panathenaic Stadium – the site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. 

The Greeks have been throwing full moon celebrations for thousands of years. During the night of the full moon in August, one of the brightest moons of the year, the Ministry of Culture organises free concerts, film screenings, theatre shows, dance performances and stargazing events at over 100 archeological sites across Greece – from Olympia to the Acropolis Museum. The tradition dates back to ancient Greece and the story of Selene, the Titan goddess of the moon.