Cyprus is an island state in the east of the Mediterranean Sea, surrounded by Turkey to the north and Greece to the west. Tourism on the island is extremely successful. And it’s not very hard to see why, with sandy beaches, breath-taking natural beauty, sleepy rural communities and bustling cities; however, there are also many celebrations and festivities all year long which may also account for the islands popularity among holiday makers.
Many of these events occur in Limassol, the second largest city in Cyprus, and they start as early in the year as February when the annual Limassol Carnival takes place, continuing into March. Then it’s only a month’s wait until the next festival in the same city, which celebrates a tradition dating back to ancient Greece. It is “Anthestiria”, or Flower Festival, which is a time to celebrate nature’s beauty with exhibitions and parades of plants and flowers.
Another festival that is rumoured to have started in ancient times is “Kataklysmos”, or Festival of the Flood, which takes place in June (again in Limassol). It involves throwing water in the sea at one another, as well as a variety of dance and song, sometimes taking to form of competitions. Different groups compete with each other, singing popular song’s, called “chatista”.
“Shakespeare Nights” is a September time festival put on by the society for chest diseases. It involves putting on Shakespearian plays in the open air Curium theatre. The Wine festival is also on at this time of year where the Municipal Garden in Limassol draws the crowd to come and try Cyprus’ best wines.
There is a vibrant and varied culture on the island of Cyprus, and the islanders are clearly very proud of it. Throughout the year there are celebrations that make salient a certain feature of Cypriot life, and this list has named only a few.
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