Carnival In Greece ex Wiki
The Carnival season in Greece is also known as the Apokriés (Greek: Αποκριές, "saying goodbye to meat"), or the season of the "Opening of the Triodion", so named after the liturgical book used by the church from then until the Holy Week. One of the season's high points is Tsiknopempti (Greek: Τσικνοπέμπτη,"Smoke Thursday"), when celebrants enjoy roast beef dinners at taverns or friends' homes; the ritual is repeated the following Sunday. The following week, the last before Lent, is called Tyrinē (Greek: Τυρινή, "cheese [week]") because eating meat is not allowed, but dairy products are. The Great Lent begins on "Clean Monday", the day after "Cheese Sunday". Throughout the Carnival season, people disguise themselves as maskarádes ("masqueraders") and engage in pranks and general revelry.Patras holds the largest annual Carnival in Greece; the famous Patras Carnival is a 3-day spectacle replete with concerts, balles masqués, parading troupes, floats, a treasure hunt and many events for children. The grand parade of masked troupes and floats is held at noon on Tyrine Sunday, and culminates in the ceremonial burning of the effigy of King Carnival at the Patras harbour.
In many other regions, festivities of smaller extent are organized, focused on the reenactment of traditional carnevalic customs; for example those held in Tyrnavos (Thessaly), Kozani (West Macedonia), Rethymno (Crete) and in Xanthi (East Macedonia and Thrace). Specifically Tyrnavos holds an annual Phallus festival, a traditional "phallkloric" event [14] in which giant, gaudily painted effigies of phalluses made of papier maché are paraded, and which all women present are asked to touch, or kiss, their reward for doing so being a shot of the famous local tsipouro alcohol spirit. Also every year, to the very beginning (from 1 to 8 January), mostly in regions of the Western Macedonia, there are Carnival fiestas and festivals. The most known of them is the Kastorian Carnival or "Ragoutsaria" (Gr. "Ραγκουτσάρια")[15] [tags: Kastoria, Kastorian Carnival, Ragoutsaria, Ραγκουτσαρια, Καστοριά]. It is taking place from 6 to 8 January with a mass participation of the local population and thousands of visitors under the sounds of big brass bands, pipises, Macedonian and grand casa drums. It is an ancient celebration of natures' rebirth (fiestas for Dionysus (Dionysia) and Kronos (Saturnalia)), which ends the third day in a huge dance in the medieval square Ntoltso where all the bands are playing the same time and all the people are dancing too.
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It is not as big as the Rio Carnival but it is fun.