Battle of Crete commemoration
Late May
Week of events around 20–27 May commemorating the WWII battle. Most events centred on the cemetery at Souda and various villages where the resistance was fiercest.
Greek island festivals in May 2027
31 festivals on 26 islands, day by day. Movable feasts are computed for 2027.
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Date announced each year
Omiria (Homer festival)
May
Ios claims Homer's grave — tradition puts it at Plakotos in the north — and honours him each May with the Omiria, the island's main cultural festival under UNESCO's auspices: performances, exhibitions, concerts and contests. A quieter, older side of an island better known for its summer party.
Kea (Tzia) Food & harvest
Keion Gefseis food festival, Ioulida
A Saturday in early May
A municipal food night, held on a Saturday in early May, that turns Ioulida into a tasting walk: stations at the Piazza, the main uphill street, Skaki and the square, where local producers and tavernas hand out samples of Kea specialities — paspalas, loza, thyme honey, the local cheeses — with a chef's menu inspired by Kea recipes, a sweets workshop by the women's association and dance groups to finish. Free; Ioulida is car-free, so park at the entrance and walk.
Poros Poseidonia running races
mid-May weekend · Poros Town
A new municipal running weekend (first edition 16-17 May 2026, 900 runners) with 10 km and 5 km races along the coast road and through the pines, plus children's distances; a 2027 edition is announced. Entry via the festival site; May sea is already swimmable.
Tinos Religious
Panigiri of Panagia Vrysiotissa (first Sunday of May)
first Sunday of May · Vrysiotissa monastery, near Tarampados
On the first Sunday of May the icon of the Virgin is carried in procession from the church in Tarampados to the monastery of Vrysiotissa, where an open-air liturgy is held and cars and pickups are lined up to be blessed. Afterwards the villages nearby offer kerasmata. A rural Tinos scene few visitors see.
1 May · Saturday
Chios Religious
Rouketopolemos (Rocket War)
1 May
In Vrondados, two rival parishes — Agios Markos and Panagia Erithiani — fire tens of thousands of homemade rockets at each other's bell towers across a 400m valley, while the midnight Easter liturgies continue inside both churches. Possibly the most spectacular Easter event in Greece. Watch from the slopes of Mount Aepos for safety.
Corfu Arts & culture
Botides (pot smashing)
1 May
At exactly 11am on Holy Saturday, signaling the First Resurrection, residents throw large clay water-filled pots from their balconies onto Liston Square below. The crash of thousands of pots, accompanied by philharmonic bands, is meant to drive away evil. Adopted from the Venetians. Arrive by 9am for a viewing spot.
2 May · Sunday
Aegina Carnival
Burning of Judas, Perdika
2 May
On Easter Sunday evening (6.30 pm) the fishing village of Perdika revives the burning of Judas: a procession from the primary school down to the harbour, where the effigy goes up in flames, the Vathy cultural association dances and the tavernas and locals hand out treats. Perdika's quay is the best place on Aegina for an Easter Sunday fish dinner anyway.
Folegandros Religious
Panagia of Folegandros
2–4 May
The icon of the Panagia is brought down from the Kastro church on Easter Sunday and carried from house to house across the island over the following three days — a procession unique to Folegandros, with locals hosting the icon overnight in turn.
Kalymnos Carnival
Easter Sunday dynamite on the hills, Pothia
2–3 May
Kalymnos does Easter louder than anywhere in Greece. Rival groups, each 'owning' one of the two mountains above Pothia, hurl homemade dynamite sticks across the harbour all through the Resurrection liturgy — a deafening barrage that rattles windows in the town below. A sponge-diver's tradition rooted in the island's resistance streak. Watch from a distance: this is genuinely loud and genuinely explosive.
Kos Panigiri
Panigiri of Agios Georgios, Pyli (horse races)
2–3 May
Pyli celebrates Agios Georgios with the island's traditional horse races: after the liturgy, riders from the village race bareback on the plain below Pyli, then there is a glendi with food and music on the square. If 23 April falls in Lent it moves to Easter Monday. Asfendiou has its own Agios Georgios the same day, with mezedes in the little forest.
Skyros Religious
Feast of Agios Georgios (patron), Agios Georgios Monastery, Chora
2–3 May · Skyros Chora
St George is the patron of Skyros (the Venetians called it Isola San Giorgio) and his 10th-century monastery sits on the rock under the castle above the Chora. The feast on 23 April, moved to Easter Monday when it falls in Lent, is a liturgy and procession rather than a tavla panigiri, but it is the day the Chora dresses up. Steep climb; go up early and have coffee in the square afterwards.
3 May · Monday
Aegina Arts & culture
Choros tis Lambris (Easter Monday dance), Paliachora
3 May
On Easter Monday at 11 am the Cultural Society 'O Kapodistrias' revives the old Aeginetan Easter dance at the Stavros, the open ground among the Byzantine chapels of the abandoned hill-town of Paliachora: live music, the old songs and a circle dance that everyone is pulled into. Wear walking shoes for the stony path and go on to the monastery of Agios Nektarios just below.
Crete (Chania) Religious
Blessing and milking of the flocks for Agios Georgios, Asi Gonia
3 May
On St George's morning shepherds drive thousands of sheep and goats down through the village lanes to the church of Agios Georgios Galatas, where the priest blesses the flocks; the animals are then milked on the spot and the milk (several tonnes of it) is handed out to everyone present. It is a real working custom, not a show, and it ends with raki and Cretan music in the kafeneia. Be there by 9 am, park at the edge of the village and walk in; if 23 April falls in Lent the feast moves to Easter Monday.
Iraklia Panigiri
Feast of Agios Georgios, Agios Georgios port
3 May
The port village is named for its church of St George, and on 23 April (or Easter Monday in Lent years) the liturgy is followed by a feast in the church courtyard with food and wine for everyone. The island's spring gathering, before the first tourists.
Feast of Agios Georgios, patron of Koufonisi
3 May · Pano Koufonisi (Chora)
St George is the island's protector: after the liturgy on 23 April (or Easter Monday if the date falls in Lent) the icon is taken round the island by caique with the fishing boats escorting it along the coast, the lanes are strewn with flowers, and the community serves boiled beef and patsas with drinks before the party moves to the tavernas. A rare chance to see Koufonisi as a working fishing island before the season.
Feast of Agios Georgios, Spartochori
3 May
Spartochori's church of Agios Georgios celebrates on 23 April (or Easter Monday when the 23rd falls in Lent), with liturgy and a procession of the icon through the whitewashed lanes above the port of Spilia, then coffee and sweets offered outside the church. Out of season, so it is locals only; a good excuse for a spring day-trip from Nydri.
Naxos Panigiri
Feast of Agios Georgios, Potamia
3 May
The green valley village of Potamia keeps St George's day (23 April, or Easter Monday when the 23rd falls in Lent) with a liturgy and then free food and wine, music and dancing in the square. A spring feast with the island still empty of tourists.
Agios Georgios horse races and Kamara dance, Koukounaries
3 May
On St George's day (or Easter Monday when 23 April falls in Lent) a liturgy is held at the chapel of Agios Georgios by the Koukounaries lagoon, the horses are blessed and then raced along the strip of land by the old carnagio, with separate heats for racehorses, working horses and donkeys. In the Chora the same days see the Kamara, the island's slow women's dance in heavy traditional dress, in the square of Agia Triada on Easter Monday and Tuesday. Spring, so accommodation is cheap; the races are informal and start late morning.
6 May · Thursday
Panigiri of Zoodochos Pigi monastery (Bright Friday)
6–7 May · Moni Zoodochou Pigis (Kalamos)
Anafi's spring feast: on the Friday after Easter the monastery of Zoodochos Pigi at the foot of Kalamos rock, on the site of the ancient Apollo sanctuary, holds a big panigiri that draws people over from Santorini and the other islands, with meals offered by the monastery. It comes right after the island's Easter customs (the burning of Judas in the Chora square on Easter Sunday afternoon), so a week on Anafi over Orthodox Easter covers both; it's a 2-hour walk or a rough road from Chora.
Naxos Religious
Pilgrimage of Panagia Argokoiliotissa, Koronos
6–7 May · Koronos (Argokoili)
On the Friday of Bright Week (five days after Easter) the whole of Naxos climbs to Argokoili above Koronos, where the icon of the Virgin was found in 1836: the icon is carried down from the old church on Thursday evening and back up with a huge procession around 10:30 on Friday morning, with the Metropolitan, a vigil overnight and stalls selling food. Many walk up from Koronos; if you drive, park early on the road below because it fills for kilometres.
Samothrace Panigiri
Panagia Kamariotissa & sardine feast, Kamariotissa
6 May
On the Thursday after Easter the port village celebrates its Panagia with a procession and a re-enactment of the finding of the icon, followed by a sardine feast on the harbour. The following Sunday (Thomas Sunday) Chora keeps the Five Martyrs with procession and dances. Spring, so bring a jacket; ferries from Alexandroupoli are busy with returning islanders.
Sikinos Panigiri
Panigiri of Zoodochos Pigi monastery, Chora
6–7 May · Chora (Kastro)
The fortified 17th-century monastery above Kastro celebrates on Bright Friday, the first Friday after Easter: on the eve the sponsoring family lays on a communal meal at the monastery for the whole village, and in return keeps the icon in their house for the year. It's the island's spring feast and, with the Easter week, the best reason to come to Sikinos out of season; climb the steps from Kastro before dusk.
7 May · Friday
Panigiri of Agios Ioannis Spiliotis at the Cave
7–8 May · Agios Ioannis (Cave of Antiparos)
The chapel of Agios Ioannis at the mouth of the famous cave celebrates St John the Theologian on 8 May, with vespers on the 7th and a panigiri on the terrace outside: traditional dances, kerasmata, local dishes and wine. It is Antiparos's best-known feast and a rare chance to be at the cave with locals rather than tour groups.
Panigiri of Zoodochos Pigi Monastery (Bright Friday)
7 May
The 1720 monastery in the pines on the east side of Poros, 4 km from town, celebrates on the Friday after Easter with a liturgy and an open feast in the grounds that draws a large crowd from Poros and Galatas. Take the bus or a taxi-boat; Easter week on Poros is mild, green and cheap.
Panigiri of Zoodochos Pigi (Bright Friday), Skiathos Town
7 May
The Friday after Easter is Zoodochos Pigi, and since 2026 the Dimos Skiathou has revived the old daytime panigiri in the courtyard of the church of that name in town, from about 11 am after the liturgy, with music, dancing and food. It is a family, Easter-week affair rather than a night glenti, and a good excuse to be on the island when it is still green and quiet.
15 May · Saturday
Lesvos Panigiri
Feast of Taxiarchis Mantamados (Sunday of the Myrrhbearers)
15–16 May
The monastery of the Archangel at Mantamados, with its famous relief icon, celebrates its second feast on the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers (two weeks after Easter) with a hierarchical vespers on Saturday and liturgy and icon procession on Sunday; around 7,000 people walk the 35 km from Mytilene, others come on horseback. The old bull sacrifice in the courtyard has been banned, but the village butchers still cook kiskek all night and hand it out to pilgrims on Sunday. Also kept on 8 November.
20 May · Thursday
Evia (South) Religious
Feast of Agioi Konstantinos and Eleni, Nea Styra
20–21 May
The parish church of the seaside resort of Nea Styra is dedicated to Constantine and Helen and keeps 20-21 May with an episcopal vespers and liturgy (two metropolitans in 2025), the informal start of the season on this stretch of coast opposite Attica. Religious rather than a glenti, but the tavernas on the front open for it.
Kastellorizo Religious
Feast of Agioi Konstantinos & Eleni (patrons)
20–21 May · Megisti (Kastellorizo town)
The metropolitan church of Agioi Konstantinos and Eleni, with its columns from the temple of Apollo at Patara, is the island's patron church: great vespers on 20 May, liturgy on the 21st and the icon carried through the lanes and along the harbour with the navy, coast guard and everyone else in tow, then treats on the waterfront. Late May is a lovely, empty time to be there; flights from Rhodes fill for it.
23 May · Sunday
Paxos Religious
Litany of Panagia Vellianiton, Sunday of the Paralytic, Gaios
23 May · Gaios (Velianitatika)
On the fourth Sunday after Easter the ancient icon of the Dormition is carried from Agios Georgios in Velianitatika through the olive groves, chapels and lanes of Gaios to the islet monastery, with the Metropolitan of Corfu, the schools and the philharmonic, and blessings at decorated stops along the way; broth and meat are again served under the pergolas at the monastery gate. Falls in May, a lovely time on Paxos; the whole thing starts after the 9:30am liturgy.
26 May · Wednesday
Evia (North) Religious
Feast of Agios Ioannis o Rosos, Prokopi
26–27 May
The biggest pilgrimage in Evia: the incorrupt relic of St John the Russian lies in the 1951 church at Prokopi, and on 26-27 May tens of thousands come, many walking overnight from Chalkida or Mantoudi, for the vigil and the grand procession of the silver reliquary on the morning of the 27th. The shrine has a 160-bed hostel and a canteen, and the village fills with stalls. Roads into Prokopi are closed to traffic on the day, so park on the Mantoudi side and walk.
Dates are resolved for 2027: fixed saint's days as they fall, movable feasts computed from Orthodox Easter (2027: 2 May). Panigiria are usually held on the eve of the saint's day, and a village occasionally shifts one to the nearest weekend — where an entry says "confirm locally", the date comes from recent years' announcements rather than an official calendar. If you know better, the feedback button exists for exactly this.