Engagements arranged by families and weddings lasting fifteen days were planned in advance and celebrated with unique and fascinating ceremonies. These rituals carried poetic and symbolic meanings.
Wedding ceremonies were held on Sundays at the Cathedral of Aya Konstantinos, and with a public announcement made in the main square, the entire town was invited to attend. Baptisms and funeral ceremonies also included long- established traditions. During funerals, for example, professional mourning women would lament, and plates filled with olive oil and wine were smashed against the coffin.
On New Year’s Eve (December 31), children would visit houses, shops, and coffeehouses carrying paper boats decorated with ribbons and small flags, singing songs of good wishes in exchange for money and traditional pastries. Adults would also visit one another.
On the morning of Saint Basil’s Day, after returning from church, men would throw a pomegranate forcefully against the wall of their homes as a wish for happiness and prosperity. The more seeds scattered, the more abundance and good fortune the coming year would bring.
On February 16, during the Feast of Aya Elias, men would repeatedly jump into the sea and walk around in wet clothes throughout the day. Those unwilling to participate were sometimes compelled to do so.
On Easter Day, the Resurrection service is held outdoors, and believers attend carrying candles. As soon as the church bells ring, young people release confetti, and people greet one another with the ceremonial phrase, “Christ is Risen.” Afterwards, everyone enters the church to receive the Holy Fire from the priest and carries it home to light their household hearth. On Easter Sunday, the entire town gathers in the main square to eat, drink, and sing throughout the day. Unmarried girls were required to remain at home, though they were allowed to stand at the entrance, where they would sing and swing.
At dawn on May 1, all the girls of the island would walk in groups outside the town carrying jugs to collect water. They were allowed to speak only one word along the way. This “silent water” was believed to bring good luck to the family. Everyone would wash with this water, and it would be sprinkled on household items and the walls of the home. When a girl became engaged, she would fill a glass jug with this water and bring it to her future mother-in-law’s house. In return, she would receive a special pastry and a few coins.
When a child became seriously ill, a local wise woman was invited to the house. Using olive branches gathered at church on a Sunday before Easter and a censer filled with embers, she would draw crosses on the child’s body while reciting sacred words: “Christ came, laid his staff upon the ground, and drove away the snake and the evil neighbors from our home.” After this ritual, she would empty the censer into a bucket of water and count the remaining unburned pieces. The number was believed to represent those who had cast the evil spell on the child. If the olive leaves crackled loudly while burning, it was considered certain that the child had been bewitched.
