Carnival customs with views to the volcano
The carnival customs in the island of Santorini are different to those in other parts of the country. Then again, Santorini is different in many ways from any other part of Greece…
In the past, people of all ages would start to dress up for the carnival as early as mid-January on St. Antony’s Day. This joyful atmosphere would carry on until Cheesefare Sunday and children in particular would make a round in friend’s houses to show off their costumes. Arriving outside the house they would want to visit, they would shout: We are dressed-up for the masquerade! Can we come in?” and the landlord would reply accordingly and always in a positive way.
In the evening of the last Sunday of the Carnival everybody would go out in all the villages of the island, to take a promenade wearing and showing off their costumes and acting according to the character they were dressed-up to imitate. Behind their masks, they would try to recognize who is who, thus, having plenty of fun with the whole procedure!
The young girls would run behind the ones who were dressed-up, teasing them and laughing at their costumes and funny masks, until they would all arrive at the central square of the village. There, they would start dancing to the tunes of the carnival till very late, having ounces of fun.
Nowadays, most of these customs have seized to exist to their past extend, but the carnival season still goes strong, especially in Fira, which is the main town of the island. The two weeks of the Greek carnival give a more colorful and joyful ambience to the whole island and it is really worthy to experience the particular season in Santorini, especially with the thrilling views of the volcano opposite...
