Greece has unique destinations to offer where wonderful Easter customs and traditions are revived every year.
We recommend 10 of them for Holy Week, which culminates on Easter Sunday, May 5, 2024.
In Skopelos of the many churches
Here where the psalms from the services of the churches of Skopelos Town echo throughout the island. Skopelos is full of old traditional churches, chapels and monasteries.
On Holy Saturday, from the morning the children distribute the traditional buns with the red egg to the houses. Get lost in the whitewashed narrow streets and discover the magic of the green island this spring!
In Corfu for the famous “boots” and “mastela”
It’s a common secret, Corfu is one of the nicest suggestions for an Easter trip in Greece. The Venetian cantons invite you to walk through them to the sounds of the island’s infamous philharmonics.
Holy Saturday 11.00 am the bells ring joyfully marking the first Resurrection. Large jugs with red ribbons, filled with water – the famous “boots” – are launched from the decorated balconies of an iconic housing estate for the island, the well-known Liston, in Spianada Square, causing excitement in the assembled crowd. A very special spectacle that will make the Easter 2020 holidays truly special.
Another custom that is being revived is the “mastela” (ie barrel). In “Pinia”, the old shopping center, a wooden barrel full of water decorated with myrtles is placed. Passers-by throw in coins for wishes. When the time for the first Resurrection approaches, someone falls into the barrel and takes the money to the sound of the band.
Monemvasia: Tour of the Epitaph in the medieval alleys
Dressed in spring, the magical castle town of Monemvasia offers visitors a unique Easter experience. We start with the procession of the Epitaph in the picturesque cobbled alleys and continue with the traditional custom of the burning of Judas (a human effigy in which explosives have been placed), on the followingnoon of Easter Sunday in the precincts of the Church of the Coming Christ.
In Leonidio for the night of hot air balloons
“Kaur you did!” – that’s what the Tsakone people say, welcome! Experience the particularly atmospheric Resurrection night in Leonidio, when the Arcadian sky, in addition to stars, is filled with thousands of colored balloons!
With “Christos Anestis” the “stickers” catch fire and the hot air balloons take off into the spring night sky. The custom has the 5 parishes of the beautiful Arcadian town competing to see who can throw the most.
Traditional Easter in Chios
Traditionally an Easter getaway to Chios has until now been linked to the “fiery night” in Vrontados. One of the most popular destinations for an Easter trip in Greece, the island every year caught fire on the evening of Holy Saturday as rockets are launched between the parishioners of Agios Markos and Panagia Erithiani.
In January 2020, the “Friends of Vrontodusian Customs” association, which supported the rocket war, announced its decision to suspend its activities this year. With its picturesque Mastichoria and atmospheric attractions such as Anavatos, Myrovolos Chios remains one of the destinations worth exploring during the Easter holidays.
In Rhodes for “Kalafounos”
The Easter custom of the “logs” is, if nothing else, impressive on the “Island of the Knights”. The custom has been around for many years. The inhabitants collect large tree trunks (the logs) and pile them up creating a large mountain of wood.
On Great Saturday, a short time before the Resurrection, they light the great fire, the famous “Calafunos”, which symbolizes the burning of Judas. It is also a special custom that during the first Resurrection, on Saturday morning, the faithful reenact the sound of the collapse of Hades by banging the church pews.
On the island of Apocalypse, the beautiful Patmos
In the “Jerusalem of the Aegean” the ancient customs are reverently observed: the Ceremony of the Washbasin on Maundy Thursday, the representation of the Decapitation on Good Friday, the service of the Resurrection as well as the “Service of Love” on the followingnoon of Easter Sunday in the Monastery of St. Ioannis. The Gospel is read in Italian, French, Russian, English, German, Serbian and Ancient Greek!
In Laconian Mani
The picturesque pedestrian street of Areopolis, with its preserved buildings, is the “stage” for the procession of the Epitaph at Easter in Mani. In Neo Oitilo and Karavostasi, the procession of the Epitaphion takes place next to the sea.
Special Easter
On the evening of Good Friday, everyone gathers in Poseidonio Square along with Epitaphians from all the parishes of the island. The burning of Judas on Sunday followingnoon in Kounoupitsa is also impressive.
In the eerie Meteora
The candlelight, the chants, the Byzantine music, the otherworldly beautiful landscape… Everything contributes to the magic of Easter in Meteora! Easter days are special in the area of Kalambaka.
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