Contents
This Month |
Spring has Sprung! |
| Well, it’s official, we’ve had the vernal equinox and spring has
arrived. Time to clean up the garden in readiness for summer, and to
start hunting out those sandals! It goes without saying that the big event here on Crete this month is Easter.  You will find the key dates listed on this page, and in
our Spotlight section we focus on Easter celebrations and traditions
on Crete in more detail. It’s not just about Easter though. Watch out for those with a sense of mischief on April 1st…. Other spring festivals of note include St George’s Day (more about this below), and the May Day Bank Holiday. For many local business owners in Rethymnon, this month is the last chance to let their hair down before the season starts in earnest. Be prepared for some serious partying! |
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Some Key Easter Dates: Sunday 01/04/07: Start of Holy Week. Friday 06/04/07: Good Friday. Evening procession of the Epitaphos (funeral bier) through streets of Rethymnon. Saturday 07/04/07: Holy Saturday. Late night mass. People usually start assembling outside churches from about 11 p.m. Mass finishes at midnight, fast is broken and celebrations begin. Sunday 08/04/07: Easter Day. Religious and civic parades through town mid-morning, barbecues and parties throughout the region. Monday 09/04/07: Bank Holiday. And the celebrations continue!
Other Events for the CMB Diary: |
April 23rd: St George’s Day - Sheep Shearing and Dragons |
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For some English people it may come as a surprise to learn that St
George’s Day is actually a very important festival in Greece. In
England, despite some recent attempts to revive interest in the patron
saint, the occasion is not generally marked at a national level to any
great extent. Several countries, including Greece, have adopted St George as the ‘national saint.’ Within Greece, St George is patron to among others, the army, shepherds, working animals and the poor. George (Yiorgos) is also a very popular boy’s name here, so many people celebrate their name day on this date. |
 ASI
GONIA SHEEP FAIRThere are big celebrations in the village of Asi Gonia, near Argiroupoli on 23rd April. Local shepherds bring their sheep into the village from surrounding fields for the ritual of the ‘Blessing of the flock’. By mid-afternoon, the church and the village square are crammed full of livestock. After the sheep have been blessed, shepherds engage in a frenzied speed-milking contest, offering free milk to passers-by. There are also a number of other events—such as sheep shearing competitions—that take place during the course of the day. |
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Of course, no dragon could possibly be a match for our modern-day Yiorgos! |
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April Trivia |
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04/04/1968: Martin Luther King shot. 06/04/1896: Modern Olympic Games reborn in Athens. 12/04/1961: Yuri Gagarin becomes first man in space. 15/04/1912: Sinking of the Titanic. 20/04/1902: Pierre and Marie Curie isolate radium |
21/04/753 BC: Foundation of Rome by Romulus and Remus 23/04/1616: Death of Shakespeare. 26/04/1986: Chernobyl disaster. 27/04/1884: Greenwich becomes prime meridian 29/04/1945: Liberation of Dachau by allied forces |
| The Events Posse |
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