The Carnival of Zakynthos

The Carnival is celebrated with great enthusiasm and festivity by the inhabitants of Zakynthos. Especially during the recent years, the inhabitants of the island revive old carnival customs of the past with great success. It is worth tracing back the Carnival’s history in Zakynthos.

The Carnival celebration in Zakynthos probably commenced during the Venetian domination of the island, and originally it must have been an imitation of the Venetian Carnival. However, in the course of time, the Carnival of Zakynthos developed a style and character of its own. During the Carnival period, the authorities allowed all inhabitants of the island, males and females, to wear masks that covered their faces (the so called “moretes”), and walk around the town’s streets and squares. Many carnival dances were organised at old mansions, while the populace entertained their selves watching the “Omilies” theatre, that is outdoor and improvisational theatrical performances, and the reenactment of various happenings on carts. In the villages, the people were entertained by watching the “Gaitanaki” and the well-known “Giostres”, that is duels of horseback riding men.

In those years, and up until the beginning of the 19^th century, the Carnival of Zakynthos was very popular, and people from all over Greece, and particularly the Peloponnese, came to watch it. However, during the 19^th century, it lost a part of its glory, since the dances and the fiestas took place only in the evenings.

At present, on the Sunday before Shrove Thursday, the so-called “Pig Sunday” (“Gourounokyriaki”), town criers walk along the streets of the island spreading the news of the beginning of the Carnival of Zakynthos. On Shrove Thursday, which is considered to be the proper day of the commencement of the Carnival, the Carnival King enters the town. On the Sunday after Shrove Thursday, the “Picolo Carnival” parades through the town, that is the younger carnival marchers, while on Quinquagesima Sunday (the second Sunday after Shrove Thursday), the large Carnival parade takes place, with satirical happenings. In fact, last year, two old customs of Zakynthos were revived: the “Giostra” and the reenactment of the Venetian wedding, and carnival happenings took place all over the island. The Carnival parade closes on the same day with the “Mask Funeral” or the “Povero Carnival”, where the marchers lead the Carnival King to his resting place. His “funeral” is majestic, and the parade reaches the edge of the island’s harbour, where the Carnival King is set on fire.