NAXOS LOCAL EVENTS
The residents of Naxos have accomplished to maintain the customs of the island. Elements of Dionysian worship still survive in the villages, and are especially evident during Apokries or carnival. On “Meat Sunday” or Kreatini Koudoynatoi make their appearance; young people with masks, wearing capes with hood and belts made of bells strapped to their waists and chests, who dance causing an intense noise. The local custom says that they are given eggs as a treat.
On Clean Monday the streets fill with young people playing violins known as foustanellatoi.
A number of customs and traditions are linked to rural practices such as the seasonal pig-slaying and curing. On June 23, locals burn thorns. Other customs dictate walking down three lanes and passing by three churches or dictates how bread is kneaded or what dreams signify who a young man or a young woman will wed. There are also a number of local traditions linked to the grape harvest and making raki; these are known as hatzanemata.
The Easter meal traditionally comprises lamb stuffed with herbs, innards, and cheese. Local songs and dances are performed throughout Greece and lyrics are similar to the rhyming verses of the Cretan mantinades. Naxiotes have an innate love of poetry and often improvise when singing, using verses to relate local events. The island observes religious feasts with a paniyiri, a combination of religious observance and folk feast, most notable on the feast of Zoodohos Piyi at Agrokoiliotiissa, Ayia Triada at Galanado, Ayios Yeoryios at Kinidaros, and Ayios Nikodimos.
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Naxos
