| * public holiday |
Event or Festivity |
Description |
January 1st
|
New Year's Day* |
The evening before, most
homes bake or buy a vasilopita. This is a cake containing a coin. As soon as the year turns, the cake is cut and the person who finds the coin in their slice is supposed to be lucky for the whole year. Gifts are exchanged. |
January 6th
|
Epiphany* |
Marks the baptism of Christ
in the Jordan river. Holy water
fonts at churches are blessed and a bishop tosses a crucifix out over the sea
and young men swim for the honour of recovering it. |
February or March
|
Carnival |
A ten-day festivity and the
occasion for fancy-dress parties and parades, particularly in Lemesos.
|
| First day of Lent, always on a Monday |
Clean Monday* |
Moveable holiday, marked by picnics in the
countryside that include no meat or dairy products, traditional games and the flying of kites. This day indicates the
start of the 50-days fasting season before Easter.
|
March 25th
|
Greek National Day* |
Student and military
parades are held in all towns to celebrate the beginning of Greece’s war of
independence from the Ottoman Empire (1821-1831).
|
April 1st
|
Cyprus National Day* |
This day marks the start of
the EOKA rebellion back in 1955 for Cyprus to obtain independence from Great
Britain.
|
| Usually in April |
Good Friday*
|
Easter is the most
important religious holiday in Cyprus. Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion
of Christ with special prayer services. (Note that the Greek Orthodox Easter
usually falls earlier than the Catholic Easter) though they do sometimes coincide.
|
| Sunday after Good Friday |
Easter Sunday*
|
Marks the end of the
fasting season and the celebration of the resurrection of Christ. A family
occasion when food is plentiful and the mood is jolly.
|
Monday after Easter Sunday
|
Easter Monday*
|
A day of relaxation and part
of the Easter break. Shops and
banks remain closed.
|
May 1st
|
Labour Day*
|
The International Workers Day. Celebrations are organised by the unions and socialist groups. |
May
|
Flower Festival
|
A celebration of nature’s
beauty during spring.
|
May to July
|
Pharos Chamber Music Festival
|
Chamber concerts and
recitals are held at various venues in Nicosia.
|
50 days after Eaaster, always on a Monday
|
Kataklysmos*
|
Also known as the Festival
of the Flood or Whit Monday. Cypriots celebrate by sprinkling each other with water.
|
July/August
|
Ancient Greek Drama Festival
|
A cultural event including
performances of ancient dramas and comedies at the ancient theatre of Citrium
(Lemesos).
|
| August |
Village Festivals |
Many towns and villages
across the island hold a summer festival during the month of August. These festivals, that combine
traditional music and dancing, food, drink and art crafts, are a great
introduction to the traditional Cyprus hospitality.
|
August 15th
|
Assumption of the Virgin*
|
According to Greek
Orthodoxy this is the day that Christ took his mother to heaven. The week it fall in marks the summer holidays. Most people in Cyprus takes the entire week off from work and some shops, restaurants or other establishments may also close for the week.
|
| August/September |
Afamia Grape Festival
|
At the village of Koilani,
home to four wineries. The
festival celebrates the end of the harvest season with folk dancing, live music
and a market.
|
| August or September |
Pafos Aphrodite Festival
|
Every year a well-known
opera is performed by professional singers in the square in front of the
medieval castle in Pafos.
|
| September |
Wine Festival |
Takes place in the
Municipal Garden of Lemesos.
Visitors have the opportunity to taste some of the best Cyprus wines free of charge.
|
| September/October |
"Ta Kypria" International Festival |
An island-wide cultural
event that brings to Cyprus some of the world’s best artists in the fields of
music, dance, art and performance.
|
| October 1st |
Cyprus Independence Day* |
Cyprus celebrates its
independence from Great Britain in 1960 with school and military parades across
the island.
|
| October 28th |
Greek National Day* |
Also known as OHI DAY (No
day), this is a celebration of Greece’s reply to Moussolini's request for Greece to surrender in 1940.
|
| December 25th-26th |
Christmas Day and Boxing Day* |
The Christian holiday
celebrating the Nativity of Jesus Christ. One of the most beautiful traditions of the festivity is the Christmas
carols sung by children from door to door.
|
