Page 19 - Zakynthos Tourist Guide 2025

Ο πολιτισμός της Ζακύνθου Another important form of art is the Zakynthos’ carnival is now very famous
theatre both as a moment of mutual all over Greece for being magnificent
feast and as moment of folklore whose and very merry. The beauty of the carni-
historical roots go back to the period of val goes back to the Venetian time whose
Venetian domination. At the beginning habits and importance became part of
the representations were held in the the islanders traditions when Zakynthos
nobles parlors and were considered was still a colony of the republic of San
something only for the well to do class- Marco. The carnival period is now a
es; during the last years of the Venetian moment of collective feast of two weeks
domination a theatre was built to host during which the inhabitants forget
for the first time also the lower classes. everyday works to organize the feast that
The two genders that developed with calls thousands of visitors from all over
more success were the opera and the Greece with masked balls; the carnival
so called “omelies” folk representations ends in the small square of San Marco
denouncing the social injustices whose with a ritual from the past: the mask fu-
subject were the lower classes. In those neral.
works the most common theme was the
contrast between the rich and the poor Easter in Zakynthos, like everywhere else
and the actors used to wear a mask to in Greece is a very spiritual moment
keep themselves anonymous. whose apex is during the solemn pro-
cession when the Byzantine icon of the
FOLK FEASTS Holy Mother of Chryssopigi is carried
During the stormy history of the island around the city streets up to San Marco
and after the numerous invasions that square where at midnight the pope with
the inhabitants underwent, many folk a candle gives life to a chain of candles
traditions were born and were mainly light that multiply to enlighten the entire
connected to the religious cult that unit- square.
ed the islanders against the conquerors.
During the centuries, the religious folk
feasts whose tradition is still alive, were a
moment of community and amusement
in particular for the lower social classes
who were not admitted to other forms
of entertainment. Nowadays there are
many folk feasts and tens of towns, small
and large, get animated with colours and
lights. Among the most important feasts
there are the Saint Dionisios, the Carnival
and the Easter ones. FeastSaint Dionisi-
os: it is the religious feast for the Saint
protector of the island, on August 24.

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