So why not do as the Greeks, and plan your island getaway with friends and family to celebrate a true Greek Easter that combines traditions and customs, along with the mandatory Mykonos beach time and parties by the sea as well. And in addition, Easter is the perfect time to celebrate the long awaited spring, with more mild weather, and the fields full of wildflowers. Allow the our staff to lead you in the right direction to make the most of all the local Easter activities. And as the locals are preparing their quaint churches for the festivities with a fresh whitewash and colorful floral decorations in and out, feel free to have a rare peek inside, including the unique tiny chapels and secluded monasteries not always open to the public, but at Easter time it's a special treat!
Easter season kicks off in Mykonian tradition, forty days before Easter at the beginning of Lent, when the holy icon of Panagia Tourliani Monastery in Ano Mera is carried in an hours long holy procession down to the main town of Mykonos, also known as "chora." There it is lovingly displayed in the Church of St. Helena until the Saturday before Palm Sunday when it returns back up the hill home. The following week is a flurry of activity, as island bakeries prepare the "lazarakia," a pastry shaped like tiny men, sweet and savory it's coated with sugar, clove and currants, and also the “lambrokouloures," a sweet Easter bread topped with a red egg, the traditional symbol of Christ's blood. And on Good Friday you must participate in the procession of the Epitaph (the bier of Christ), as various churches compete for the most beautifully flower-bedecked masterpiece. The following Holy Saturday, gathers all locals and guests at a midnight mass to receive the Holy Light which comes to Greece all the way from Jerusalem, passing throughout Greece. Then as fireworks light up the sky, a preliminary feast to end the Lenten fast, featuring the traditional Easter soup of lamb innards and greens called “mageiritsa” is served, followed by non-stop revelry throughout the night, which of course is nothing new on Mykonos!
Easter Sunday caps this Holy Week with an endless festive feast of whole lamb roasted outdoors on the spit, traditional onion pie, locally produced "kopanisti" cheese and "louza" sausages, more red eggs, and other assorted Greek and Mykonian specialties, served with love and joy to all.
