Villages celebrate with bread, red eggs, and rituals
Easter in the villages of Paphos is marked by rich traditions and festive foods, which cultural researcher Anna Tselepou highlights as essential to preserving local heritage.
“The smells of lime-washed courtyards, freshly baked Easter treats, and Holy Week chants make the villages unique and draw people closer,” she notes.
From Palm Sunday to Holy Thursday
The Easter period begins on Palm Sunday, when women carry olive branches to church for blessing and preservation for forty days. On Holy Thursday, households bring water to churches to be blessed during the Twelve Gospels ceremony, later used for making leavened dough kept year-round.
Red eggs are also dyed on this day, giving Thursday the nickname “Red Thursday.”
Holy Friday preparations
From dawn on Good Friday, festive baking begins. Families prepare Stavrokoulouro, a cross-shaped bread baked like rusks and hung at the doorway. Easter breads with red eggs, known as avgotes, are also made, along with Lambropsomo decorated with the initials ΧΑ for “Christ is Risen,” cut at the table by the head of the household.
Other traditional treats include flaounes and paskies, made with goat cheese, eggs, mint, raisins, and spices, with paskies sometimes containing fried meat. Galena, sweet breads made with milk, sugar, and butter, are baked in wood-fired ovens from early morning.
Church and family rituals
Young women help decorate the Epitaphios with flowers from village gardens, while villagers attend its evening procession accompanied by chants. On Holy Saturday, the final preparations for the Easter Sunday feast take place. Families walk to church at midnight for the Resurrection service, bringing the Holy Light home to light their oil lamps, exchanging wishes, hugs, and kisses, and enjoying a traditional egg-lemon soup.
Easter Sunday celebrations
On Easter Sunday, families gather for the traditional egg-cracking ritual and heartfelt blessings. In the afternoon, village squares come alive with games and festivities, keeping the spirit of tradition vibrant. Tselepou stresses, “These are beautiful family moments that everyone must help preserve.”
Also read: Easter in Cyprus: Festive table costs rise slightly
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