The culture of Cyprus includes a merry community of joy-loving people who adore their own culture and traditions. They love celebrations and plan some of the most spectacular rounds of festivities, festivals, and art performances. Every holiday or religious occasion is celebrated with a band of merriment, traditional feasts, and dancing. Sometimes it appears that the locals only need an excuse to start a weeklong celebration.
Each year in March, the Cypriots hold carnivals and celebrations in every town and village, consisting of a whirlwind of parties, music festivals, masquerade balls, and parades. Summer is time for multiple ancient and traditional cultural festivals, of which the Ancient Greek Drama Festival attracts crowds of tourists from all over the world.
May is marked with the advent of spring. Spring is celebrated with flower festivals across all the towns and villages, along with floral competitions and street processions. Harvest festivals and fairs are commonly held across villages, and these are rowdy and joyous affairs marked with feasts, dramas, masquerade balls, music, wine, and dancing.
Culture of Cyprus: LIMASSOL WINE FESTIVAL
Wine is a big part of the culture of Cyprus. Wine Festivals are undoubtedly one of the most essential, and the local winemakers initiated the prestigious festival in Cyprus and its tradition back in 1962. It is a spectacle of wonderful celebrations, a week filled with concerts, parades of exotically embellished floats, and masquerade balls. After the carnival, Cypriots celebrate the Green Monday, which also marks the first day of Lent. The locals arrange a massive veggie-style picnic and incredible kite-flying contests.
EASTER OR PASCHA
It is vital to the culture in Cyprus to celebrate Easter. Every day of the Holy Week of Easter is marked with beautifully decorated church services with cream and white flower displays, parades of Christ’s icon through the streets, and large bonfires on Easter Saturday. Cypriots celebrate this occasion with traditional delicacies, wine, music, and fireworks, and you cannot miss indulging in the traditional Easter treat, Flaounes, a tart-like dessert made with mint, sultanas, and cheese.
LARNACA FLOWER PARADE OR THE ANTHESTIRIA FESTIVAL
The Larnaca Flower Parade is celebrated in May, and it is an exuberant floral festival to celebrate the advent of spring. It is inspired by the ancient festival of Anthestiria that was celebrated in the historic anthems. The locals celebrate with majestic parades across the seaside, embellished with carpets of exotic flowers, fabulous costumes, and decorated floats shrouded with fresh flowers.
FESTIVAL OF THE FLOOD OR KATAKLYSMOS
This remarkable and rare festival is a big part of the culture of Cyprus and is celebrated in May or June, nearly 50 days after Easter. It is celebrated on Whitsun, and it memorializes Noah’s tale and his ark that was destined to save animals. This festival is marked with a rollercoaster of events that last all week, including local food stalls, fairs, swimming contests, sailing competitions and much more.
Culture of Cyprus: PAPHOS APHRODITE FESTIVAL
Cultural highlight celebrated in September, the Paphos Aphrodite Festival is one of Cyprus’s most iconic performing arts festivals. It is celebrated in the gorgeous arena of the castle located in the old port of Kato Paphos. Noteworthy is that it is held on the balmy and warm evenings of September, and it has a unique atmospheric vibe that will leave you exalted and enticed. The festival is marked with three astounding opera performances, and the cast ensemble consists of local and international artists and actors. It is bound to be an event that you will remember and cherish forever.
