The Ideal Spring Destination for Easter: Corfu

By George Manadis

Whether you have an idea about Corfu or this is your first encounter with the magical island, buckle up! You are in for a treat!

The idyllic Ionian Island, in the northwest of Greece, is renowned for many things and constantly attracts more and more people who savor all it has to offer. Some prefer to visit its magnificent beaches during the summer, but Corfu and its main city are an all-year destination. From the rainy days of winter and autumn, when you can peruse the city alone and go into cozy student bars and shops, to its dry summer. But Corfu is also renowned for the local traditions and for the vibe that permeates the entire island during the Greek Orthodox Easter.

Spring is finally here, nature flourishes, and after so many weeks of rain, everything is green again, and you can smell the scent of spring everywhere you go. I suggest getting out of the airport and walking on foot, alongside the sea, to the city center or to wherever you are staying. This is the best way to get a glimpse of the whole island and get a feel for it.

Many things happen during Easter on the island. Starting with the Saturday before Easter week, you will come across carol singers, both in the city but also in the many Corfiot villages, singing the Lazarus carols, dressed in traditional costumes and holding many musical instruments. Corfu is an island with a rich musical tradition. Every village has its own small philharmonic orchestra, with the biggest one being that of the main cities.

In the days to follow, everyone on the island is getting ready for the main events. Starting from Thursday, when the entire island is filled with the smells of freshly baked Tsoureki we slowly enter Friday. Every church has its own epitaph, and processions take place in all parts of the island. Processions are always accompanied by adagio music from the multiple philharmonic orchestras, giving the island a gloomy and elegiacal tone. Purple, the color of sorrow, is present everywhere, and the atmosphere is something worth seeing once in your lifetime.

Saturday, the day of the resurrection, is when the fiesta begins. In the main square of the city, but also in many other places, people perched in balconies throw big jars filled with water. This is for the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. In terms of food, people on Saturday eat the tsilihourda, and not the mageiritsa, as it is customary in other parts of Greece.

Red painted boiled eggs are everywhere, with people throwing them in fields for good crops and good luck.

Be careful, though: Easter in Corfu is always packed with many tourists flocking to the island, but also locals from other parts of Greece. Make sure to book and plan ahead! Also, if you do not like crowds or you are claustrophobic, it is better to avoid the city and spend Easter in a nice village in the mountains or near the sea.

Photo by Calin Stan