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The Easter customs of Corfu ( Ionian Islands,
Greece )
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Easter, the greatest festivity of the
Greek-Orthodox Church, is celebrated with
particular reverence all over Greece. In Corfu
the festivities of Easter are unique.     The
Corfiots call Easter Lambri or Lambria
(Bright) expressing this way the symbolic
spiritual brightness of the day.     The special
local customs, the direct relation of these days
with the beginning of spring, show off a
uniqueness, which has rendered the Corfiot Easter
an attraction with visitors from all over the
world. The polyphonic ecclesiastical music (a
local particularity) predominates and pours out
of the Corfiot churches to the small alleys of
the city and the suburbs. This harmonic melody, a
particular quadraphonia, which came from Crete in
the 17th century, even today is called "Cretan
melody".
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1. Sunday of the Palms ( Last Sunday before the
Easter )
At 11.00 in the morning of Palm Sunday, the
litany of the Holy Shrine of Saint Spyridon takes
place, a procession which holds since 1630, in
commemoration of the deliverance of the island
from the spread of the deadly plague, which took
the lives of many Corfiots in 1629. This litany
is the largest in size and length and
circumambulates the city on the trail of the old
Venetian city-walls, with many stoppages on the
way for prayers and entreaties. It is the only
litany that all 18 Philharmonics of the island
participate to honor the Patron Saint of Corfu.
It is the custom after the end of the litany, all
the Philharmonics to parade through the old city
center playing cheerful marches. On the same
night at 8.30 in the Municipal Theater the
concert of the 'Mantzaros' Philharmonic takes
place with solemn music, which introduces us in
the mood of the Passion Week.
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2. The Holy week from H.Monday to H.Thursday
From the next day, Monday before Easter, the
Corfiots start shopping for Easter. The sweet
smell of Fogatsa', Mandolato' and Colombina'
(all local sweet specialties) is sensed all
around the city. In the afternoon the bells of
the churches ring to call the congregation for
the Service.     On Tuesday before Easter the
famous Kassiani motet is heard in the churches
and at 9.00 in the evening in the Peristyle of
the Old Palace the "Organization of Corfiot
Activities" (OKE) stages the Musical and Poetic
Night with the theme "From Golgotha to
Resurrection".     On Wednesday evening before
Easter at 8.30 p.m. the people are filling up the
Municipal Theater to hear the Municipal Chorus
singing ecclesiastical hymns of the Passion Week
with chorals from the East and the West.     On
Maundy Thursday the Service of the Holy Passion
is attended by the Corfiots in the churches. In
the Catholic Cathedral, Duomo, they light up 12
candles and put out one-at-a-time after the
hearing of each of the "12 Gospels". On the same
day with the first bell-ring the red Easter-eggs
are dyed, eternal symbol of the renewal of life
and nature.
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3. The Holy Friday Epitaphs
Good Friday is the day of the Epitaphios, the
funeral of Christ. All over the island, as all
over Greece, every church brings out its own
funeral bier and parades it around the parish. In
Corfu however, the attendant philharmonic
orchestras and choirs, the presence of thousands
of Corfiots as well as foreign visitors, give
another dimension to the gravity of the occasion.
    Early in the afternoon begins the
circumambulation of the Epitaphs on the streets,
alleys and squares of the old city and the
suburbs. From 2.00 in the afternoon until late at
night, tens of Epitaphs will pass around the city
and as time passes more Epitaphs gather on the
historic center and almost cross each other. Each
Epitaph is accompanied by a chorus, a
philharmonic, torches, manual lamps, scuolas
(guild Patron Saint standards), which during this
evening are held sideways indicating the funereal
character of the procession. Schools, scouts and
groups of little girls carrying baskets full of
flowers, which are abundant in Corfu this time of
the year, also accompany each Epitaph.
  The last Epitaph of the night is at 10.00 and
is the impressive Epitaph of Corfu Cathedral. In
this Epitaph, the presence of the Holy Clergy, of
the Authorities and of thousands of Corfiots and
visitors, gives an ecstatic dimension in this
mournful night. The 'Old' Philharmonic (Palea
or the red) performs the Albinoni's Adagio, the
Mantzaros Philharmonic (the blue) plays
Verdi's Marcia Funebre and the Capodistrias'
Philharmonic plays Mariani's Elegia Funebre, also
known as Sventura and Chopin's Marche Funebre.
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4. The Holy Saturday customs
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The Holy Saturday customs
a) Amleto
The day starts in the Church of St. Mary where
the real earthquake is simulated at 6 o'clock in
the morning. This represents the earthquake
described in the Bible after Jesus' resurrection.
At 9 o'clock the Epitaph starts from the Church
of St. Spyridon. In the year 1574 the Venetians
forbade the Corfiot people from making this
procession on Good Friday. Therefore, it still
takes place on Good Saturday. The pomp is moving
rhythmically together with the music of the three
best philharmonic bands. The first philharmonic
band, Old Philharmonic (1840) , starts from the
old City Hall and plays Hamlet by Italian
composer Faccio. The second philharmonic band,
Mantzaros Philharmonic (1890), plays Calde
Lacrime (Hot Tears) by Michelli and the
philharmonic band, Capodistrias Philharmonic
(1980), plays Beethoven's Heroika
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The Holy Saturday customs
b) The Pot Throwing
By 11 o'clock in the morning the crowd is waiting
for the so-called First Resurrection. When Mass
is over at the 'Metropolis' (The main Cathedral),
bells from all the other churches in town start
ringing. While the bells are ringing thousands of
ceramic doses filled with water are thrown down
from balconies overlooking the streets of the Old
Town. This tradition comes from a passage in the
Bible.
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The Holy Saturday customs
d) The Anastasis
Late in the evening, at 11 p.m. everybody
gathers in Spianada square where the Holy Mass
takes place. Everyone holds a candle which has
been lit from the holy flame. By the end of the
Mass everybody on the square has a burning
candle. Moreover, every house in the Old Town has
dozens of burning candles on their balconies.
This creates a unique and unforgettable
atmosphere in the town. At midnight exactly the
Second Resurrection happens and as soon as the
priest says Christos Anesti' a huge and
magnificent bonfire starts. Everyone shakes hands
and wishes a Happy Easter to everyone around them.
Tradition says that every family must boil some
eggs and paint them red (also from the Bible).
Every member of the family has their own egg and
tries to break the eggs of the other members of
the family. Whoever's egg breaks all the other
eggs without breaking will have a good luck all
year round.
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5. Easter Sunday
The main dish at the Easter Table is the lamb or
goat. Served in honor of the Lamb of God who was
sacrificed and rose again on Easter, the whole
spiced lamb roasted over a charcoal fire is the
most traditional of Greek Easter foods. The
Easter Sunday celebration lasts through the day
while visits are made to family and friends and
the Easter feast is shared with every guest. Each
person that enters the home is greeted with Gia
to kaló tis iméras! - For the good of the day !
and with a plate of food and an invitation to
join in the feast. Besides bringing insult and
bad luck to a host who is rejected, the foods are
so delicious...who could refuse?
At 7 o'clock in the morning the congregation
from every church in the Old Town comes out on to
the streets with a symbol of resurrection,
together with philharmonic bands and choirs.
Eggs breaking