Patras keeps two festive poles unlike any other pairing in Greece: Saint Andrew, the First-Called who was crucified in the city, and his procession - and the Patras Carnival, the oldest and largest in the country, with roots in 1829.
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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.
Saint Andrew the First-Called is the patron of Patras: by tradition he taught and was crucified here, and his feast on November 30 is a public holiday for the city. His venerated icon, dating from 1829, is carried in procession twice a year - on the day itself, November 30, and on the Sunday nearest September 26, the anniversary of the return of his holy skull from Rome to Patras. The new church of Saint Andrew is among the largest in the country: 60 metres long, 52 wide, 46 high, with a total area of 2,500 square metres, twelve bell towers and a 5-metre cross at the top.
The Patras Carnival is the city's second - and more popular - festive identity. Its roots are traced to 1829, with the first recorded carnival ball at the house of the Patras merchant Moretis: one violin, two guitars and barely twenty people, a year after the city's liberation in 1828. Today it is the oldest and largest carnival event in Greece and one of the largest in the world by number of participants, with around 40,000 costumed revellers in the main parade. Its form combines influences from Greek carnival customs, Italy and the Ionian Islands. The villages of Achaia separately keep their own summer calendar, on the feasts of the saints.
On November 30, which is a public holiday for the city. The 1829 icon is carried in procession twice a year: on November 30 itself and on the Sunday nearest September 26, the anniversary of the return of his holy skull from Rome to Patras. The new church is among the largest in Greece - 60 metres long and 46 high, with twelve bell towers.
Its roots reach back to 1829, with the first recorded carnival ball at the house of the merchant Moretis - one violin, two guitars and twenty people, a year after the liberation of Patras. It is the oldest and largest carnival event in Greece, with around 40,000 costumed revellers in the main parade.
