Carnival
In preparation for Lent, Cypriots really let their hair down during the 10 days of carnival prior to the fast; Limassol is famous for its celebrations and processions and fancy dress balls.

Green / Clean Monday
This comes at the end of the carnival 50 days before the Greek Easter. The day signals the beginning of Lent and a strict meatless fast of seven weeks for the devout .On this day Cypriots usually take a picnic and head for the countryside.

Easter
The major religious celebration of the year in Cyprus. Observance of Easter starts early in the Holy Week ,with the red dying of hard boiled eggs and baking of Easter biscuits on Maundy Thursday.
On Good Friday there is the solemn procession of the Epitaphios (the body of Christ) On Saturday evening huge bonfires are lit after midnight mass burning the effigy of Judas Iscariot .At midnight the priest appears carrying a candle and announces that Christ has arisen .the flame. From his candle is passed from worshipper to worshipper and it is considered good luck if you arrive home with your candle still lit.
In the larger villages and towns there are spectacular firework displays and the fast of Lent is broken with the eating of traditional Easter soup.

On Easter Sunday the family joins together to celebrate. The main meal is usually roast lamb cooked on a spit in the spring sunshine.

Anthestiria
Flower Festival May is the month of flowers. In Limassol it is celebrated with a procession of floats and an exhibition of the beautiful flowers and plants to be found in Cyprus.

Kataklismos
Festival of The Flood Seven weeks after Easter, The Festival of the Flood is unique to Cyprus. Elsewhere it is merely known as Pentecost or the Feast of the Holy Spirit, but here it is the pretext for a week of events including games and folk dancing.

At all coastal towns, people crowd into the sea and sprinkle each other with water. It is said that the Festival commemorates the salvation of Noah and his family from the flood .It is likely that it is actually a much older Pagan rite in honor of Aphrodite' s birth ,or perhaps her purification after sleeping with Adonis.

Paphos Festival
The Paphos festival of music, theatre and dance is staged in the Ancient Odeon and The Fort from June through to September.

Limassol Wine Festival
This takes place usually during the 1 st week of September in the Central Park It is an excellent opportunity to sample the various wines of Cyprus

Related Pages

• Local Holidays
• Local Lingo