Easter Festival in Corfu

Easter is the holiest and greatest festival in the calendar of the Greek Ortho¬dox faith.

The unique way it is celebrated in Corfu draws masses of people from every part of Greece. Easter time in Corfu is a complex phenomenon of religious worship, unique in magnificence and popular participation, that has been organized here for at least five hundred years. It is a blend of old Byzantine ritual with influences from the example of Venetian religious practice, which itself had Byzantine influences. These rituals at one time were partly conducted in the form of public ceremonies arranged by the town itself, but nowadays Corfu Easter celebrations are organized through collaboration between the Town Council and the Church. One more defining characteristic of Easter here is that, since the time of Venetian rule, the local Catholic Archdiocese had agreed to celebrate Easter on the same day as the Orthodox Church—a custom still observed today.