profile    services    testimonials   properties for sale    about corfu     contact us

Welcome to our Newsletter of April 2008

A golden flower on the rocks of the Old Fortress, taken on the 30th of March 2008

Weather

Featured Property for sale

Asking price:  €450,000 – £356,123   www.x-rates.com
For further details please contact:  nenilam@jonathanedunn.com or click click here

A moment in Corfu's History                                         The Corfiot  Easter

Corfu is famous for it's magnificent Easter celebrations. The Western Civilization's influences are clearly visible even in this mainly Greek-Orthodox festivity. Thousands of Greek and foreign visitors gather every year to experience the unforgettable rich Corfiot history combined with the traditional religious customs in the romantic enviroment of Corfu Town, now recognised as a  world heritage monument.  During this period many elements are interweaved harmoniously together, the Christian faith, pagan traditions, the powerful presence of Saint Spyridon, the Roman Catholic community, the Venetian influence, the music of the philharmonic bands, genuine Corfiot humor and of course the natural atmosphere of spring. Holy week is characterized by its church services and religious processions.

Palm Sunday 20th of April 
The Easter celebrations start at 11:00 in the narrow streets of the Old Town with the biggest ceremony: the litany of the body of St. Spyridon, the patron saint of the island. This tradition goes back to 1630, to commemorate the saint's miracle of saving the island from the plague that killed thousands of Corfiots the previous year. The procession sets off from the Saint's church and follows the line of the old town walls, from where the Saint drove off the plague. More than 15 philarmonic bands, each one with different outfit, accompany the proccesion, playing religionale, trionfale and funebre marches. All members of the bands are having a special cross attached to their jackets, made from palm leaf, celebrating Jesus's triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

At midday, in homes and tavernas, the traditional dish of the day is served - stockfish or salt cod.

In the evening a concert is held in St. Georges church, in the Old Fortress

Holy Monday - Holy Tuesday - Holy Wednesday
In the evening all the old churches in Corfu Town and around the island, have a mass. Corfu has got almost 1,000 churches so it is impossible for the visitors to miss them! 
Later at 21:00 different concerts are organised by the Municipality of Corfu in different venues around the Old Town. 


Holy Thursday 24th April
The bright dyed red eggs that are symbolic of Easter in Greece, are prepared by every family on this day after the first sound of the curch bells, then on the Holy Sunday's Table become pieces of a traditional game. Each person takes an egg and challengers attempt to crack each others' eggs. The breaking of the eggs is meant to symbolize Christ breaking from the Tomb. The person whose egg lasts the longest is assured good luck for the rest of the year. Then they stick the shell on doors or throw it into the garden to bless the harvest.

The market is full of life as every household is preparing for the traditional  Easter Saturday's dinner and the Holy Sunday's great lunch. All the pastry shops sell the "Kolobina", a Venetian origin Easter cake, which is a small sweet bread with a red egg on top, decorated by multicoloured feathers, immitating the shape of a small pegion.

Today the service of the Twelve Gospels is taking place in the monasteries. At Agios Athanasios at Agros, at the Lady of Kokkinada at Lefkimmi, and at whichever monastery is still functioning, you will enjoy direct contact with the essence and soul of Holy Week. In Corfu Town the Church of Agios Ioannis (John the Baptist) celebrates with Byzantine hymns, while the Monastery of Agia Evfimia beside Mon Repos has the finest tradition of services, together with the Platytera Monastery at Mandouki, and Agii Theodori in Garitsa. After the fifth gospel Jesus is hung upon the Cross and remains there until noon of Good Friday. In the Duomo - the Catholic Cathedral in the Town Hall Square, they light twelve candles and extinguish them one by one as the reading of each gospel is completed.  After the mass, in every church young girls start the decoration of the Epitaphios, the Christ's funeral bier. Every different bier is beutifully decorated with fresh flowers that were collected throughout the day.

At the village of Ag. Deka, the custom of ‘trizonia’ is revived. Better known as ‘rokanes’, meaning ‘rattles’, the weird sound adds to the atmosphere of emotion that accompanies the Passion of Christ.

 

Good Friday 25th April
Good Friday is the day of the Epitaphios, the funeral of Christ. At noon the service of the removal  of the cross nails is taking place and the crucified Jesus is carried to his position in the holy Altar.  This event takes place in a deeply emotional atmosphere under the sound of the burial bells.

Later, all over the island, as all over Greece, every church brings out its own funeral bier and parades it around the parish. Every different Epitaphios keeps it's own characteristics so that no one looks the same. The attendant of the Philharmonic orchestras and choirs, give another dimension to the occasion. The town processions start in the afternoon to give the Philarmonic orchestras time to escort them all. 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 first epitaphios leaves the Church of  Pantokrator in Kampielo at 14:00 and other churches follow, until the last one, which starts at 21:00 from the Catholic Cathedral. Around 22:00 all the processions are coming together at the big square in front of the Liston with thousands of people following. Now all the orchestras and the choirs are becoming one and the outcome is just overwhelming.

In the village of Varipatades the custom of the ‘bombola’ takes place. Hundreds of snail shells or bombola filled with oil and cotton as a wick, are lit and placed on the stones where the funeral procession will pass, intensifying the devout atmosphere of the evening.

Holy Saturday 26th April
On Holy Saturday, at 06:00 in the morning, the custom of 'the earthquake' is carried out at the Church of Virgin Mary of Strangers. It is a re-enactment of the earthquake which is described in the Gospel as the triumphal sequel after Christ's Resurrection.

Later, at 09:00, the Epitaphios of St. Spyridon church takes place along with the procession of the sacred relics of the Saint. In 1574 the Venetians prohibited the Orthodox from holding their epitaphios procession on Good Friday, so ever since and until today, the procession from the Church of St. Spyridon, which includes the procession of the Saint, is taking place on Holy Saturday. This is an ancient and deeply devotional procession. The three best Philarmonic orchestras accompany the procession which moves rythmically together with the music. After the procession, the Saint remains at his church for veneration until Easter Tuesday.

At 11:00 the crowd is waiting for the First Resurrection and the 'Pot Throwing' custom. When the bells of all the churches in Town start ringing, the local people throw hundreds of pots out of their windows, smashing them onto the streets below. This noisy custom, originating with the Venetians, began in the town and spread to the villages. The Venetians used to throw all their old and useless objects out of the window on January 1st each year, so that the New Year might bring them new ones. The Corfiots adopted this custom and moved it to their great Easter celebration. Nowadays, instead of throwing out old crockery, the people use big, specially made pots (called 'botis'), filled with water to make a louder crash. Another theory says that they fill the pots with all the bad things of last year and throw them out of their houses. Taking a piece of the broken pots is considered to bring good luck.

After the dropping  of the clay pots, the philharmonic orchestras are marching on the streets of the historic center of the city playing allegro marches. At Pinia, the old commercial centre of the town, the custom of the 'mastelas' (washtub) has been revived. A half-barrel decorated with myrtle and ribbons is filled with water, and passers-by are invited to throw coins into it for good luck. When the first bell sounds for the Resurrection, someone jumps into the barrel and collects up the money. In old times the diver was not a volunteer but an unsuspecting passer-by, thrown in against his will.

At 23:00 everybody gathers on the big upper square (Pano Plateia) where the Orthodox Ressurection Mass is taking place. The Bishop, the Authorities, the Philharmonic orchestras and thousands of people are present. This is an amazing and unique spectacle.  Thousands of candles in people's hands and in every window will soon will be lit with the Holy Light which came by airplane to Athens from Jerusalem and then to all the Greek cities. Little by little the biggest square of Greece will become a sea of candle lights.  The Resurrection of Christ is celebrated at 00:00 sharp with songs, drumbeats and a unique show of fireworks. People exchange wishes and kisses even if they don't know each other, the Philharmonics march around the city playing cheerful marches and the Corfiot Easter feast has just began and will last until the morning with 'tsilihourda' (local soup with minced lamb-tripe), red eggs, fogatsa, colombines and lots of wine. The island is set on fire breaking the fasting and celebrating the Resurrection of Christ.

          

Easter Sunday 27th April
On Easter Sunday, from 07:00 in the morning, each church, just like the Epithaphios, holds its own Resurrection ceremony, with bands, schoolchildren, scouts, and choirs. On the same day each year from 11:30 onwards, the Naval Station of Corfu in the New Fortress, is open to the public with feasts and local dancing.

In Corfu the traditional menu of the first day of Easter used to be different from the rest of Greece. On Easter the Corfiots used to eat egg-lemon soup, made of 2-3 different kinds of meat, and leave the traditional roast lamb on the spit for Easter Monday leaving time for the stomach to recover after the long period of fasting. But that has changed as you can smell the lamb roasting on the spit, since early in the morning all around the island. Families and friends gather around the spit, taking turns in rolling the lamb, eating "meze" and drinking local wine until the lamb is ready and they all sit around the Easter table.

In the past, Easter carols were sung from door to door, but nowadays the custom has become extinct.

On the same afternoon the 'Service of Love' is taking place in the churches and at 18:00, two more litanies of the icon of the Resurrection of Christ are taking place in Garitsa and in Potamos.

"Christos Anesti" - Christ is Risen

A character from Corfu's past: The Street Cleaner

The photo is from the book of Maria Sgourou - Krokou, "H Kerkyra pou efyge"

The Jonathan Edward Dunn Team