The windows and balconies of Corfu today, Palm Sunday, they are adorned with red damask purplewhich give honor and solemnity to the day, because the majestic procession of the Holy Tent of Agios Spyridon takes place, in memory of the miracle of the liberation of the island from the plague at the beginning of the 17th century.
The “damask”, are deep red cloths, velvet or silk, with gold fringes. They are called “damask”, because the fabrics arrived on the island, following a special order from Damascus, Syria. They had a special treatment and were painted with the natural “royal” dye known since antiquity, the indelible purple from shells. They were luxurious pieces of cloth, with relief embroidery in the stuffing technique. The subject is of religious content, representations from orthodox iconography.
Every house, especially in the city of Corfu, has “damaskos”. Today, they may not be as luxurious as in past times, but most are silk. The people of Corfu place them on the windows and balconies with intense religiosity, to honor the ‘Patron Saint’ of the island at every procession of the sacred setting. In a sign of mourning from Wednesday until the morning of Saturday, they will withdraw from the windows. With the first Resurrection they will once again decorate the houses for the joyous event. The “damaskos” will remain on windows and balconies on Easter as well, while in many houses they will remain hanging until St. Thomas Sunday.
The purple cloths, are directly connected to the faith of the Corfu people in Agios Spyridon. An incident that happened in Corfu in December 2019 is typical, when a house in the Madouki district was completely destroyed by fire, except for the “damask” that was on the window. Then, a firefighter on social media posted a photo of the damaged house with a damascus in his hands and wrote:
“..from our verification after two days of the fire of the building in Manduki. The only thing that survived the fiery blaze were the banners that we take out in the litanies of Saint Spyridon. It occurred to me that shortly before the event was His feast day….”
“Damasko” is a very old custom, which comes from the depths of the centuries. Sources say that he came to the island after the fall of Byzantium, when various officials and nobles arrived in Corfu. Purple long narrow cloths in the Byzantium era, hung on the walls and palaces, when they celebrated victories or name days of emperors.
The Venetians also took the custom from the Byzantines, who brought it to Corfu, but not as “damask”, but as “festoni”, from the Italian word fiesta which means celebration.
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