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Corfu Festivals and Events
Saints days, Carnival and, above all, Easter are reasons for Corfiots to come out on the streets of towns and villages to celebrate the many Corfu festivals and events.
If your visit to a particular village coincides with the local saint’s day, you can hardly fail to be caught up in the general atmosphere of excitement as the saint’s image is taken from his church and paraded through the streets in a lively procession. Afterwards there will be feasting and dancing, which you may well be invited to join.
Easter on Corfu
Most impressive of all is Easter, the principal festival of the Orthodox year. Corfu has its own spectacular way of observing the feast, making this a good time to visit Corfu Town, though the weather can be uncertain and the evenings will be cool. Solemn processions take place on Good Friday, a somber day of mourning.
On Easter Saturday morning the remains of Saint Spyridon are carried through the streets in a brilliant procession. See our full page on the Church of Saint Spyridon.
What follows is unique to Corfu Town. At 11am the streets are emptied and mayhem breaks out, as unwanted crockery is hurled from every window on to the streets below. Nobody knows the origin of this extraordinary custom.
Evening Mass climaxes at midnight, when the priest announces that Christ is risen. Electric lights are switched off and the priest ignites a solitary candle, from which the worshippers then light their own candles. Immediately church bells ring out, and fireworks explode as the people make their way home for the Easter feast.
In Corfu Town, the announcement of Christ’s Resurrection is made from the bandstand on the Esplanade and is followed by church bells, music from the town bands and fireworks. Easter Sunday is a day for family celebrations, centred on a meal of roast lamb. There is often a communal evening celebration, at which visitors will be welcome.
Name Days
The Greeks celebrate not their birthday but their name day – the feast day of the saint after which they are named. So, every Maria or every Mikalis in one area will get together to celebrate in some way. This frequently means a big party. If you happen upon such an event, you will be made very welcome, although a small payment may be requested of everyone to cover the cost of food and drink. Dancing and music frequently follow the meal.
Some Cool Corfu Souvenirs
Paleokastritsa Luggage Tag
Corfu Cypresses Capri Leggings
Corfu T-shirt
Corfu Tote Bag
Other Corfu Festivals and Events
Carnival is celebrated in Corfu Town on the last Sunday before Lent. After a colourful procession of floats accompanied by the town bands, an effigy representing the spirit of Carnival is ritually burnt.
'Clean Monday’, the first day of Lent, is celebrated with a picnic (weather permitting) of seafood, salad, olives, special unleavened bread and halva, a honeyed sweet containing nuts and sesame seeds.
Corfu’s patron saint, St Spiridhon, is the focus of several festivals. His remains are paraded in four annual processions and his name day, 12 December, is shared by about half the male population of the island. On this day, the saint’s body in its silver coffin is stood upright for the faithful to kiss his velvet slipper.
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Other Corfu Pages
Corfu Shopping Tips
These Corfu shopping tips include advice on buying souvenirs like ceramics, jewelry, gold, silver, wood carvings, and food and drink, with tips on haggling.
Southern Corfu
Southern Corfu has busy beach resorts like Benitses, historical buildings like the Achilleion Palace and Gardiki Castle, and wildlife at the Korision Lagoon.
Corfu Town’s Old Fortress
Corfu Town’s Old Fortress is the town’s most striking landmark, standing east of the Old Town on top of a rocky promontory.
Kassiopi
Kassiopi is a popular tourist resort on the northeast coast of Corfu with a sandy beach, Byzantine fortress, old church, and lots of places to stay and to eat.
Where to Eat in North-West Corfu
Greece Travel Secrets has its list of favourite places where you can eat in north-west Corfu, including in Paleokastritsa, Pelekas, and Ayios Stefanos.
The Invasion of Corfu
From Nero to Nicolas Cage, the invasion of Corfu goes back to Roman times and through to Hollywood today!
Corfu Town
Corfu Town is the capital of Corfu and of the Ionian Islands and has museums, two forts, several museums, churches, and many other attractions.
Southern Corfu Beaches and Villages
This guide to southern Corfu’s beaches and villages includes busy resorts, quiet beach, hill villages and the southernmost tip of Corfu at Cape Asprókavos.
Southern Corfu Drive
This Southern Corfu drive starts and ends in Moraïtika, taking in hill villages, secluded beaches, lovely views, and a visit to Gardiki Castle.
Drive to Palaiokastrítsa
This drive to Palaiokastritsa starts at Corfu airport and takes you across the Ropa Plan and through hill villages before returning to Corfu Town.
Where to Stay in North-West and Central Corfu
Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to stay in north-west and central Corfu including luxury mansions, inexpensive rooms, and resort hotels.
Northern Corfu Beaches and Villages
Northern Corfu’s beaches and villages include busy resorts and secluded beaches, with several hill and mountain villages well worth visiting.
Corfu and Cricket
The history of Corfu and cricket goes back to 1823 when the island was under British rule, which left them with a legacy of loving both cricket and ginger beer.
The Achilleion Palace
The Achilleion Palace is one of the most visited sights on Corfu and contains a museum and impressive gardens with wonderful views over the coast.
Angelokastro
Angelokastro is a 13th-century hilltop fortress with breath-taking views near Paleokastritsa on the Greek island of Corfu in the Ionian Islands.
Corfu Offshore Islands
There are three islands off the northwest coast of Corfu, Erikouusa, Othoni and Mathraki, popular with day-trippers from resorts like Sidari.
A Lawrence Durrell Walk
This Lawrence Durrell walk takes you from Kaminaki Beach in northern Corfu to the White House in Kalami where the writer Lawrence Durrell lived for four year.
Northern Corfu in Three Days
If you want to tour northern Corfu in three days you can see busy resorts, quiet fishing villages, Mount Pantokrator, and the Andinioti Lagoon.
Corfu
Corfu or Kerkyra is the main island in the Greek Ionian islands with Corfu Town being one of the most attractive of Greek island capitals.
Corfu’s Marine Life
Corfu’s marine life includes dolphins, loggerhead turtles, and rare Mediterranean monk seals.
Northern Corfu Drive
There are two sides to every Greek island, the tourist and the traditional, and this drive from Corfu Town through northern Corfu shows the two faces of Corfu.
Kalámi
Kalami in north-west Corfu is a hidden gem which many people know about because writer Lawrence Durrell once lived here in The White House.
Visiting Albania from Corfu
Donna Dailey of Greece Travel Secrets visits Albania by boat from Corfu Town, staying overnight and seeing archaeological sites with Sipa Tours.
Northern Corfu
Northern Corfu is the most diverse part of the island, with Corfu's highest point, Mt Pantokrator, and beach resorts like Sidari and Palaiokastritsa.
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