Folklore Festivals

Since time immemorial the valleys, dales, mountains and the beaches of Crete have echoed merry-making, revelry and the pleasures for life. For Cretans each day of the year may be an occasion for celebration and feasting -
It is a way of life.

Cretans were by no means intimidated by the hardships of life or the limitations of war, they have maintained a positive attitude to life, which has equipped them with the strength required to endure and entertain the changes in life.

Each village in Crete is an autonomous cultural unit with its own songs, poets, artistes and patron saints. Each region small or large is blessed with a particular crop, the gathering of which is an occasion for one more festivity.

During the Spring and Summer a number of festivals take place in Crete; In the village of Assi Gonia for example there is the Milk & Cheese festival where visitors may indulge in as much milk and cheese as they like, visitors are also expected to join in with the dancing. At Skine there is the orange festival where tons of oranges are freshly squeezed to orange juice and offered to all guests.

There are festivals for all the crops i.e. wine, strawberry, citrus, raki and the chestnut festival, there are also festivals to celebrate patron saints which are held at famous monasteries, peak chapels, villages and towns

National holidays and historical anniversaries provide two more occasions for celebrations, the main one being The battle of Crete which is a milestone for Cretan history and each year celebrations last for twenty days.

Weddings and christenings are also occasions for eating, drinking, and singing all night long, such occasions are typical examples of the spirit of Dionysus - the mischief making God of Greek Mythology.

The Summer festival of Heraklion lasts for at least three months (July to September), other festivals organized on a local basis last from February through to March.

An aura of fun crowns the island of Zeus, the God of Hospitality and Love, this is the God who charmed Princess Europa who gave her name to the continent of Europe.