AtCorfu Travel Blog

What is a Panigiria?

Panigiria are traditional Greek village festivals, combining religion, food, and music. In Corfu, these local events take place throughout the summer and offer an authentic cultural experience.

Folklore Dance Group in Corfu

Panigiri in Corfu

Benitses – The Agia Marina festival folklore dance

As in Corfu Town, so in the villages- the events of the Carnival are the same, plus a few villages have maintained some fascinating and entertaining traditions.

The Holy Marriage

Until 1960, this was called Karnavalitikos marriage and happened in most villages, but it is now preserved only in the villages of Chlomos, Marathia, Kritika, Giannades, and a few others.

It takes place on the Shrovetide Sunday, or Tyrinis. The men of the village dress the groom, shaving him and decorating him with cologne, but also with ashes from the fireplace.

In another area, the bride, who is also a man, preferably with a mustache, will be decorated by the women of the village.

The fact that a bride is a man comes from the patriarchal influences that forbade women from participating in community events.

The ceremony also involved a demon in the form of a satyr who does his best to spoil the wedding.

Throughout the ceremony, the villagers tease each other with endless obscenities.

The custom of the Vlachs

In the village of Argirades, Vlachs are the lords of the carnival.

There are only two of them, and they dance one leading the procession and the other at the rear. The dance they do is an ancient Greek ritual dance.

They hold in their hands the blossom of the first Spring flowers, and it seems that their mission is to force all visitors to smell the flowers.

The Dance of the Priests

In the village of Episkepsis, in the square of St. Basil on Shrovetide Sunday, the Dance of the Priests is performed.

The priest of the village starts the dance, and all the men follow each other in turn according to their age and their social position in the local society.

The chorus repeats the verse that the priest says without the accompaniment of music.

When the dance ends, the old women of the village follow on, and accompanied by the music, they dance a local dance called Corfiot.

This custom only happens here, and according to Mr. Klimis (a historian and journalist) is a remnant of an ancient Maenad tribe dating from 500 BC, as he writes in his book: The “History of Corfu”.

Festivals of Folkloric Groups

The different festivals that occur throughout Corfu over the year, but mostly in the summer, are endless.

Every village has at least 3-4 per year, so with more than 200 villages on the island, one can calculate that there are local festivals and celebrations almost daily.

We mention only the most important festivals and other events that attract the most people.

1. 40 days after Easter: The feast of the Ascension, at the Analipsis area in Kanoni.
2. May 8 and August 15: Festivals on the Assumption in Kassiopi and the Kanoni area.
3. 20th of May: Festival at Alikes of Potamos village.
4. May 21st: Konstantine and Helen feast in Koulines village.
5. May 21st: Achillian race with its finish in the square of Benitses.
6. June 9th: Celebrations in Alykes of Potamos, Petalia mountain village, and Potamos.
7. June 12th: Celebration in Pelekas.
8. June 24th: Day of Saint John, the festival at Mantouki and also in many villages with the lampatines festival, where people jump over fires.
9. June 24th: Feast of the Holy Spirit in Kontokali, Argyrades, Stavros village, Kastellani Mesis, and Othoni island.
10. June 29th: Peter and Paul feast in Kompitsi, Stroggyli, Vitalades, and Gaios at Paxos.
11. July 2nd: Notre Blachernon, a festival in Garitsa.
12. July 8th: Feast of Agios Prokopios in the villages of Agios Prokopios and Kavos Lefkimi.
13. July 13th: Festival in the Sarocco Square for Saint Spyridon.
14. July 20th: Feast of the Prophet Elijah in Magoulades village.
15. July 26th: Agia Paraskevi at Porta Remounta festival and a celebration in Benitses.
16. July 15-17th: Agia Marina, a large festival in Benitses.
17. July 27th: Saint Panteleimon festival at the Psychiatric Hospital.
18. August 6th: Feast of the Transfiguration of the Saviour, in the Mouse island, Perivoli village, Strinnyla and Palaiochori, Agioi Deka and Agios Mattheos, and a six-day pilgrimage from August 1 to August 6 at the top of the Pantokrator.
19. August 11th: On the first Sunday of November, Palm Sunday, and Holy Saturday, on these dates, 4 processions are accompanied by bands from all over the island.
20. August 15th: Festival on the fifteenth of August in the Monastery of Platytera.
21. August 16th: Gala weekend in the village of Kato Garouna.
22. August 23: Feast of Our Lady Odigitrias in the villages of Gastouri, Pelekas, and Agioi Deka.
23. September 8th: Feast at the villages of Afra, Sinarades, Marathia, and San Marcos Potami Lefkimi.
24. September 14th: Feast of the Holy Cross at the monastery of St. John and in Sidari.
25. September 14th: Feast of sardines in Benitses.
26. September 24th: Celebrations at Vatos village.
27. September 26th: Saint John the Theologian, a festival in Karousades and Porta Remounta.
28. December 6th: Festival in Kampielo and Kanalia area.

Petegoletsa

On the last Thursday of the carnival, Corfu has revived a very old tradition, an integral part of the Corfu carnival, which dates from the years of Venetian rule. It is called the Petegoletsia; petegolia is simply the gossip, which means exactly what it says.
It is a popular street theatre that takes place in public, between the balconies of the old city along the narrow alleyways.

In these ‘gossip plays,’ the women come onto their balconies and gossip to their neighbors, making sly comments about recent events and also about the laundry of the other people. These are all played in the original dialect of Corfu and in a libertine language and style that would make even Aristophanes blush.

It is the famous indiscretion of Corfu, which was misunderstood in other parts of Greece, but here it is completely different, the Corfiots routinely use this phraseology many times in everyday social life, it helps to halt misunderstandings at a low level, giving chance to let off steam and avoid the use of force.

The Petegoletsia are watched every year by thousands of people; they satirize politicians, even by exposing their personal lives and scandals in public, both at the national and local levels.
Local MPs, mayors, and other public figures have to listen and at least pretend not to mind the jibes.

The Corfu Carnival

The Ancient celebrations in early spring that took place in honor of Dionysus, god of wine and fun, hoping for a good harvest and successful husbandry, are the forerunners of today’s carnival in Greece.

Here in Corfu over the years, the celebrations gained a strong Venetian influence that makes today’s Corfu carnival completely different from those in other parts of Greece.

It also demonstrates the innate zaniness of the Corfiots and shows their creativity

Costumes were worn, and the floats were influenced by medieval pageantry and exuded an aristocratic Venetian “air”.

The satires of absolutely everything are scorching, especially the satires of the politicians, both of today and of the past.

Discretion and conservatism are unknown words, and revelry continues in both the city of Corfu and the villages, where they still maintain many unique customs that you can enjoy watching.

One of them is the famous custom of Venetian marriage, the sets and clothes of the era bring the atmosphere closer to that of the Middle Ages.

Floats parade through the streets during the parade on the first Sunday of the Prodigal Son and also on the last Sunday of Carnival, when the King of Carnival is burned, among other characters that exist only here are the “Ntotoroi” ( doctors), the “nodaroi” (notaries) useful in reading the will of Carnival, and the “Muzeta” that is our name for the carnival masks which give anonymity.

The masqueraders cover the whole of their faces with Muzeta; they are unrecognizable, and they go anywhere and tease people without showing any mercy to their victims.

On the third and last Sunday of the carnival, the parade ends with the final burning of King Carnival, with the symbolic burning of all evil, and the nodaroi (notaries) accompanying him reads his will, which is usually full of innuendos aimed at politicians.

This is followed by a celebration with dances and songs all night.