Festivals, Celebrations & Holidays in Crete
This is a list of Holidays, Festivals and Celebrations held in Crete. I have tried to include all of them but I am sure I have missed some. Also some of the dates may be different from year to year so if an event sounds interesting to you, you may want to research it further so you don’t show up at a village to find the party was last week. I have not included all of the Saint’s days just because there are so many of them.
Each church is devoted to a particular saint and that saint’s name day is usually celebrated with a Panagiri (festival), and a religious service. On that day, people with the same name as the saint celebrate their name day in the same way as you celebrate your birthdays.
When you go to a village ask one of the locals when the panagiri for a particular church is and if it happens to be during your stay, join in the celebration. My favorite Saint’s day is for the Prophet Elias because it is held at a monastery or church on the highest point of an island which is usually on top of a mountain. Also many villages will have a particular patron saint that they celebrate more then the others. Find out who that Saint is and when the Panagiri is.