The Greek Islands in the spring
Life on the Greek islands revolves around the seasons and is punctuated by religious festivals or panigyria. Easter is the most important Orthodox festival of the year, but there are also lively carnival celebrations on some islands, too. Greeks know very well how to combine expressions of faith with enjoyment and they put in a great deal of enthusiasm in all of their celebrations, from the most notable to the smallest fair of a little hamlet.
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Some festivals have their origin in pagan traditions; others celebrate the different harvests -grapes, olives, corn- or recreate the victories of the Greeks in their long struggle for independence.
The beautiful Greek islands adorned by the Spring
In Greek, spring is called Anoixi (opening) and is the prelude to the tourist season on the islands. After spending winter in Athens or Rhodes, hoteliers head for the smaller Greek islands that are more beautiful than ever in the spring, strewn with poppies, chamomile, and cyclamen.
Orthodox Easter, which follows the carnival season in the late February or March, is the biggest event in the spring. If April rains falls on the northern Greek islands, the sun usually shines on Crete, the Dodecanese and the islands of the western Aegean.
Easter in Greece
Greek Orthodox Easter can take place up to three weeks before or after the Catholic Easter. It is the most important religious festival in Greece and the time when families tend to get together. It is also a good time to visit the country and take a tour of the Greek islands, see the processions, the way of worshipping and taste the food.
Religious ceremony and symbolism are a direct association with the Byzantine past of Greece, and even connect to more primitive beliefs. The festivities reach their culmination at midnight on Easter Saturday, when the priests sing the Christ is Risen and the fireworks signal a Sunday full of parties, music and dancing. Sunday roast meat ends the Lenten fast and reaffirms the belief in the renewed life that spring heralds. Particularly, they are really worth a mention the processions and night church services that take place on Good Friday and on Holy Saturday in Olympos (Karpathos), Hydra, Patmos and in almost all the towns of Crete.
(See next article: The Greek islands season by season)