Christmas customs

Before Christmas, in Kouklia, Christmas reparations start. Preparations include cleaning the house, baking rusks and candies.

On Christmas Day, people go to church. After Divine Service, people receive communion and exchange wishes.

After church people go home and gather around the table in a happy, family atmosphere to eat turkey and soup or “traxana” soup, which is a traditional dish.

New Year’s customs

On New Year’s Day, people go to church and when the Service is over, they exchange wishes.
According to old Cypriot customs when people return home from church, they should enter with their right food so everything will go well during the New Year.

On New Year’s Day family members play games with cards and dices at their houses such as “traiantaena”, “riga” and “zaria”.

“Sikoses”

In Greek “Sikoses” is the period between the Beginning of carnival on Sunday and the following Sunday that is Shrovetide Sunday. During this period, people masquerade and go round their relatives and friends’ houses. They celebrate by making joking and having feasts.

Many families used to celebrate in coffee shops. They ate, drunk, danced, and they used to hang swings where girls sat on them and men pushed the swings.

Easter customs

Hosanna Sunday

During this day housewives take boughs from olive trees to church to be kept them there until Whit Sunday. The boughs are hallowed and then taken back to people’s houses so that the family is protected by envy and evil.

Holly Week

On Maundy Thursday, a model of the holly cross is placed in church along with a model of Saint John and Virgin Mary on the right and left side of the cross.

People go to church to worship the holly cross and listen to the 12 gospels about the Passion Week, Christ’s crucifixion and death.

On Good Friday, in the morning the Sepulchral is decorated with flowers. Girls bearing pomades chant the Dirge, sprinkle pomade, and throw flowers at the Sepulchral. At night, the Sepulchral’s procession takes place.

Days before Easter Sunday, housewives bake rusks as well as “flaounes” a traditional Cypriot kind of bread. On Holy Saturday, eggs are dyed red which are “chinked” after the service.

Resurrection

Around eleven o’clock in the evening the church bell is heard to call all people to church.

At the church’s parvis people light firewood known as “Lambratzia”. At twelve o’clock the priest announces, “Christ has risen” and starts with the vicars the litany procession. People light their candles from the Resurrection’s holy light held by the priest. Outside the church people will listen to the Gospels.

After church people go home, “chink” eggs, and wish each other. They also eat “traxanas” soup and “flaounes”.

On Easter Sunday, they roast lamb and enjoy themselves. They eat, drink and dance.

On Sunday afternoon, events take place at the village’s square and people play traditional games. These events are continued on Monday and Tuesday. The week that follows is called “Diakainisimou” in Greek and it is a week of joy, delight and fraternisation.