Staves (lighting of a fire)

It takes place on «Sunday the  cheese-eating» or the last Sunday of carnival, as it is known. Weeks ago the boys of each neighbourhood collect woods, sticks -from the hills around, even tyres for the fire. When the day comes people in all neighbourhoods  are gathered around  the fire and dance, enjoy themselves and watch the huge flames till midnight.When the flames are failing the brave ones jump over them saying: «Let bugs and fleas be burnt!!»

It is a tradition to fly a kite on that day! After having flown the kite, at noon, the villagers are gathered in the yard of the primary school to attend a traditional wedding ceremony. Both the bride and the bridegroom are dressed in traditional-folk costumes. The bride throws four apples in four different directions making the shape of the cross; then she eats a Turkish delight (in Greek it is called «loukoumi») and she starts dancing, whereas everybody eats bean soup, flatbread, «loukoumi», fish roe salad, olives and halvah -a large quantity of food having been cooked by a local club of women. Then  they dance folk dances and buy lotteries wiyh special gifts.

Every year there’s a festival at the chapel of St.George. On St. George’s eve after the vespers they all have fun with dances, several meals and drinks till late at night. Next morning when Mass is over everybody is given a Turkish delight («Loukoumi»), rusks and milk. Then there are  folkdances. A girl is chosen to get dressed as a princess. She is supposed to be sacrificed to the dragon that guards the water,so that there is a complete shortage of it. But thank God, a boy pretending to be St. George, riding a white horse clasps her, saving her from the dragon, which he kills with his sword and so water is back at the village