The “flour smears” in Galaxidi they are not only about the locals but about everyone who will be there on Maundy Monday. Not only do they have bonfires in squares and streets, music, food, dancing and feasting, but those present must be prepared to endure the “powder war”.
With roots in Sicily, or according to others in Byzantium, the custom has been repeated in Galaxidi since 1801. When Galaxidi was under Turkish occupation, the inhabitants waited for Halloween to have fun either wearing masks or simply painting their faces with charcoal. Then flour, flour, shoe polish and ocher were added. In the port of Galaxidi early on Clean Monday, the “flour war”, the infamous “flour smear”, where at first only men took part, threw flour at each other. Later women also participated.
Visitors who didn’t want to get dirty had to have a smudge or cross on the forehead made of shoe polish. Those who did not accept it, automatically became “victims” of would-be smearers.
To this day, the custom of “flour smearing” remains unchanged over time and is a pole of attraction for thousands of visitors, young and old, making Galaxidi one of the ultimate destinations for Clean Monday.
Vlach Wedding in Thebes
Over 200 years of tradition o “Vlach wedding” in Thebes. Every Clean Monday, suitors, groomsmen, cousins take their posts early and for hours they negotiate hard the consulship, the dowry and the dowries, as the Vlach Wedding is re-enacted in all its formality.
All included in a custom unchanged over time, since it has its roots in the era of the liberation of the mountain villages, when the shepherds found themselves in the plains. Apart from the typical “Vlach wedding”, which hides a lot of celebration, everything is adapted to the climate of the days with a spectacle, with a colorful wedding procession, with music from pipes and drums.
Long hair in “Indian” rhythms
The “Indians” of Makrakomi they hide a history of more than 65 years. Half-naked carnival men, painted in the colors of the carnival, above and below the floats, on Clean Monday move among the thousands of people who are there. Music and banter give and take, creating an atmosphere of fun that has won the hearts of locals and visitors from all over Greece!
In Lamia, Clean Monday hosts the kouloumas, in various neighborhoods and villages of the area, while the “Neomagnisiotikos gamos” gathers the interest of residents and visitors. This is an incident in the refugee district of Nea Magnesia. It is a courtship between a refugee girl and a local man with original humorous dialogues, which develops to the crowns and continues with a feast.
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