Easter In Zakynthos Island 4-day tour

The special and unique customs of Holy Week

Holy Week in Zakynthos, known as the “Zakynthian Holy Week”, is truly unique in Greece, as it has its own, special and characteristic color, with a special ritual in its religious ceremonies and ancient customs, which its inhabitants respect and observe with unique consistency and reverence.

The Zakynthian Holy Week begins on Lazarus Saturday, when at 11 am the “vagi” is hung on all the bell towers of the city and villages of the island and the church bells ring solemnly. Here the vagi is not the well-known laurel that is shared in the rest of Greece, but fresh palm leaves, intricately woven together, so as to form crosses, “vagiophores”, suns, horses, etc. They decorate the churches for the celebration.

On Palm Sunday, after the Divine Liturgy, the vagia that decorates the churches are either distributed by the “nontsoli” (maids) to all the houses, or the faithful take them from the churches, as a blessing and place them on the icons. After the end of the Liturgy, the churches are dressed in mourning, with purple and black colors, while in the evening the Nymphios Service is performed.

On Holy Tuesday in the evening, the devout troparia of Kassiani is heard, as it is uniquely sung, with characteristic Western influences, by the melodic choirs of the churches, especially the holy monastery of Agios Dionysios, the metropolitan church of Agios Nikolaos and the Phaneromeni in the city.

On Holy Thursday in the morning, Vespers and the Divine Liturgy are held in all the holy churches. After this, the island is plunged into mourning and the bells do not ring again until the morning of Holy Saturday.

The peculiarities of the Zakynthian ecclesiastical ritual are intense from the evening of Holy Thursday. First of all, the hearing of the hymns “They divided my clothes among themselves…” and “You have redeemed us from the curse of the law…”, which are emphasized according to Zakynthian ecclesiastical music, is impressive.

Another peculiarity of the Zakynthian Holy Week is that the Crucified One does not come out after the fifth Gospel, as is customary in other places, but after the eleventh Gospel. The cantor in front of the Crucified sings, according to the Zakynthian member, the hymn “Today he is hanging on a tree…”, while immediately afterwards the choir or cantors, also only in Zakynthos, sing the famous Psalm “What have the nations cried out…” in a devout atmosphere, while the Crucified is carried in procession. The twelfth Gospel “On the morrow…”, also sung in any case in the “Zakynthian”, constitutes the climax of the Holy Thursday Service.

According to the testimonies of older Zakynthians, this was done so that the inhabitants of the island, almost all of them farmers at that time, had time to return from the fields, get ready and go to church.

On Good Friday, everything on the island participates in the Divine Drama. In the morning, the Great Hours are performed, followed by the Deposition, which in Zakynthos is performed at the moment when the Apostolic Hymns are sung, “When from the wood to the dead…”. After a while, the priest will exit the Holy Altar, carrying Christ on his shoulder, wrapped in a white sheet.

In Zakynthos, the embroidered Epitaph known in the rest of Greece is not used, but a two-faced wood-carved hagiography of the dead Christ, called “The Lamb”. After the procession, the Body of Christ is placed in the real impressive Epitaph. Zakynthos’ Epitaphs are not decorated with flowers, because they are carved in wood, covered with gold leaf and velvet, real works of art.

After noon at 2:00 PM, residents and visitors experience the climax of Zakynthos’ Holy Week, at the holy church of Agios Nikolaos of Molos. From there, the procession of the Crucified One will begin. The atmosphere is unique and deeply moving. The mournful procession begins to the sounds of “What have the nations cried out…” from the philharmonic. Along with the Crucified One, the famous icon of the Mater Dolorosa, that is, the Virgin Mary of the Passion, is also carried.

The procession crosses almost the entire city and returns to Solomos Square, where, on a pedestal, the Metropolitan blesses the clergy and the people with the Crucified One, at the 4 points of the horizon. The procession ends at the same church, where Christ is placed in the Epitaph.

On the evening of Good Friday, the Epitaphic Lamentation Service is held as usual in all the holy churches, but without a procession of their Epitaphs. In the metropolitan church of St. Nicholas of the Strangers, this Service, according to an ancient custom, is not held on the evening of Good Friday, but in the early hours of Holy Saturday, specifically at 2:00 in the morning. At 4:00 in the morning, the Epitaph is taken out, with the faithful following. The Epitaph returns to the church around 5:30, where the Service continues.

A short time later, the beautiful hymn “Praise the Lord…” is heard, also emphasized in Zakynthos church music, which is sung by everyone, the famous “Gloria”, the “piece” (First Resurrection) and the breaking of clay pitchers by the housewives of all the houses during the First Resurrection and in St. Mark’s Square, over which the philharmonic orchestra passes playing, are some of the other special and unique moments of Zakynthos’ Holy Week.

On the night of Holy Saturday, at 11:15, the Service begins in the metropolitan church. At 11:45, the Easter procession begins for St. Mark’s Square, where the Resurrection takes place. “Christ is Risen” from the lips of the metropolitan, also sung to the peculiar Zakynthian church music, conveys to all the Christians, who flood the square and the surrounding areas, the message of the Resurrection of Christ.

Immediately afterwards, the Icon of the Resurrection returns to the metropolitan church, where the “Arate Pylas…” are performed. According to local tradition, the Resurrection Divine Liturgy is not celebrated immediately afterwards in any church in the city and villages, but on the morning of Easter Sunday.

The “andeti” (custom) requires that, during the reading of the Gospel, the church bells ring. Only in the church of the patron saint, Saint Dionysios, are two Resurrection Divine Liturgies held: the first at 1:00 a.m. and the second on Easter morning.

On the afternoon of Easter Sunday, the Vespers of Love takes place in the holy church of Agios Lazarus in the city and a procession of the imposing icon of Panagia Galanousa, as well as the icon of the Resurrection.

On Easter Monday, most villages in the Zakynthos countryside celebrate. In the island’s most beautiful, western-style churches, residents and visitors can attend the Resurrection Liturgies and processions of the venerable icons of Panagia and the Resurrection. In the town of Zakynthos, in the afternoon, the procession of the icon of Panagia Laurentina takes place, from Psiloma (Bochali) to the holy church of Agia Triada.

The culinary customs of Zakynthos

On Holy Thursday, tradition calls for artichokes stuffed with rice on the table.
On Good Friday, the Zakynthos people do not even eat oil, while in the morning they drink a spoonful of vinegar as soon as they wake up, which has a symbolism related to the passions of Christ.

On Holy Saturday, many Zakynthos people eat meat with soup, such as tripe or boiled beef, because the first resurrection took place at dawn. In the evening, they eat “sgatzeto,” the red Zakynthos stew. These are bellies, livers, and legs of lamb wrapped with celery in entrails, something like gardoubitses with red sauce.

Easter in Zakynthos: the special and unique customs of Holy Week
Zakynthian cook “sgatzeto”
The traditional dish of Lampri in Zakynthos is not lamb on a spit but avgolemono, with ladotyri, ham and red eggs. The lamb was made on Easter Monday in the oven with potatoes.