Corfu Greece Magazine Rites of Spring Festivals

Corfu Magazine - Vol. 3, No. 3; March 2008

Rites of Spring

Celebrations begin on the first Sunday of Carnival (Septuagesima) with a

trial run of the Carnival procession through the town.

Tsiknopempti is the night when everyone eats meat because the forty days

of Lent and fasting follow, leading up to Easter.

Petegoletsia (the Gossip) is re-enacted every year in the Old Town center

and is a very old tradition of street theatre in which, from windows overlook-

ing the alleyways, women exchange scurrilous gossip in authentic local

dialect.

The procession of King Carnival on the third and final Sunday marks the

climax of the celebration. King Carnival takes on the ‘burden of sins’

committed by the authorities (How convenient!) and becomes responsible

for whatever civic faux pas have occurred during the previous year. He is

symbolically put on trial and subsequently sentenced to death by fire, all

evil consumed by a bonfire in which the King is cremated. His will is read

and a great party with music and dancing follows.

Corfu's Most Important Weekend

Good Friday features a reenactment of the burial of Christ. In the evening,

the churches take their funeral bier through the streets, as people follow

with candles in hand, the Philharmonic Orchestra and choirs in attend-

ance.

On the morning of Holy Saturday, clay

pots are thrown from windows.

At night the Catholic Church is first to hold

its service, which finishes in time for the

Greek Orthodox service.

When the bells chime midnight to mark the symbolic Resurrection of

Christ, a celebration begins with fireworks, music and singing. Wine is

drunk and dishes such as red eggs, fogatsa, tsilichour-da and columbines

are served. In the morning, churches take the icon of the Resurrection

through the town streets, and on the afternoon of Easter Sunday the

Lent fast is broken with the eating of roasted lambs.

Carnival is the last Sunday before Lent, and in Corfu it is one of the year’s most extravagant festivals. The island’s residents put on a spectacular celebration that embodies pagan worship, as well as the Venetian carnival traditions. It is a time full of music, celebration and brightly-coloured costumes.

With its roots in Ancient Greece, Carnival developed from rites in honour of Dionysios, God of Wine, and were later enhanced by Venetian influences. Preparations for the floats begin a year in advance, and the theme of each float is kept strictly secret until the moment it appears on the streets of the town.