On Naxos the feast goes uphill. The island has an interior - rare in the Cyclades - and the Tragaia villages beneath Mount Zas hold the largest celebrations of the year.
Panigiria · Naxos
May - September
Panigiria run from May to September, and the season peaks at Dekapentavgoustos - the Dormition, on 15 August - when most villages hold their feast. Each programme is set close to its own saint's day, so the list fills late and empties out of season.
The biggest is at Filoti, for Panagia Filotitissa: a three-day panigiri around August 15, the worship beginning at the historic church and the dancing carrying through to morning. It is an island-wide gathering - people from Filoti return from Athens, from the ships and from abroad to venerate their own place's icon, and visitors come from across Naxos. The church counts roughly three centuries. In the other mountain villages - Apeiranthos with its marble-paved lanes, Koronos, Halki, Sagri - the feasts are smaller but hold the same shape: liturgy, tables in the square, instruments until dawn.
The instrument of Naxos is the violin. The Naxian violin and laouto carry the tune, and the older melodies are still accompanied by the tsambouna, the Cycladic goatskin bagpipe. The dance is circular and open: you join whenever you like, there is no ticket and no stage. On the table come Naxos potatoes, Naxos graviera, xiromyzithra, goat or lamb, and kitron, the liqueur distilled from citron leaves that is the island's most recognisable flavour. The season thickens from mid-July to the end of August, peaking on August 15.
Panagia Filotitissa at Filoti, three days around August 15. It is an island-wide celebration, with people from Filoti returning from Athens and from abroad to venerate the icon.
In the mountain villages of the Tragaia and the interior - Apeiranthos, Koronos, Halki and Sagri - with smaller but traditional feasts in squares and church courtyards. See the current calendar on Mood.
