Elafonisos keeps its customs alive. From Epiphany and Clean Monday to the 15 August feast and the Fisherman’s Festival, each celebration has its own island way.
Below you will find them in calendar order.
Customs and festivals
Epiphany
The blessing of the waters in the harbour: the cross thrown into the sea, church bells and the caiques’ horns.
January 6
May Day
The May wreath with garlic, onion and an ear of wheat, hung on the door until St John’s Eve.
May 1
St John’s Eve and the Klidonas
Bonfires everyone jumps, the “silent water” and the fortunes of the Klidonas, one of the island’s liveliest customs.
23 and 24 June
Union with Greece and Agios Spyridonas
Four days of celebration: the anniversary of union in 1850 and the Agios Spyridonas procession with music and dance.
6 to 9 July
15 August at Panagia
The feast of Panagia Katonisiotissa: pilgrims who spend the night in the churchyard and bonfires on the beach till dawn.
August 15
The Fisherman’s Festival
Fish, wine and dancing late into the night: the island’s celebration of the sea and its catch.
Late August
Holy Cross Day
The start of the farming year, the end of long voyages for sailors, and the first cracked olives.
September 14
28 October
The “Ochi” anniversary on the island: flags in the harbour, a service, wreaths and a school parade.
October 28
Mid-sowing Virgin and the olive harvest
By 21 November half the sowing should be done; it is also the time the olive groves fill with people.
November 21
Feast of Agios Spyridonas
The feast day of the island’s patron saint, with a procession of his icon.
December 12
Christmas on Elafonisos
Christmas bread with almonds, juniper branches for a tree, the lykoutsardoi goblins and the decorated boat: Christmas as the island lived it.
December 25
New Year’s Eve
Carols, samousades and lychnarakia, the children’s “kalichera” and the sea squill hung for good luck.
December 31