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FESTIVALS/FEASTS OF SIFNOS
Sifnos upholds the traditions and tries to preserve its customs, such as the customs of: panigiras (organizer of the festival/feast), local carols, the wedding of lolopanigiras, the dance of Mr. North Wind, carnivalesque dances with the kamilosies (masqueradings), carnival, pastos etc. The residents of the island observe the manners and customs that they have inherited. In Sifnos, as well as in any other Greek island the local events are connected with the religious worship of the place.
In most of the country churches and monasteries traditional festivals/feasts take place at least once a year with common dinners that remind us of the ancient "estiasi" and the New Year’s "loves". The festivals of Sifnos take place the eve of the fast-day of the Saint.
In Sifnos as well as in most of the Cyclades islands, tens of festivals take place during the whole year. Every month, in winter or in summer, there is at least one of the 360 country churches or monasteries of the island which celebrates. The festivals some times take place in the regular dates of celebration of the Saint-protector of the city and some times in special dates that are always strictly set. The festivals are rich and well organized neither by cafes and taverns nor by monasteries and priests but by simple citizens, the "panigirades" as we call the in Sifnos.
So far many churches and country churches of Sifnos belonged to private individuals. Some of them have been built or inherited and maintained in an excellent condition by private individuals and others have been adopted by the faithful, who were once saved by the miraculous intervention of the Saint - protector of the city. Therefore, in order to repay the Saint for his help in the best possible way, the faithful used to take home the Saint’s icon in order to take better care of it. Thus, the custom of the yearly hospitality of the icon at the faithful’s house has been established in time. In the house of "panigiras". Even today, over three hundred icons remain outside their churches, at the houses of the faithful, and are taken quite often to the faithful’s winter residences in Athens, Piraeus, Thessalonica etc.
The faithful who takes the icon at his house meets his obligations which include looking after the icon and maintaining it. The icon is placed on a feather embroidered pillow in the best room of the house. In front of it, on the same table there are two candlesticks, one on the left and one on the right of the icon with candles, which are alight during the supplications. It is also necessary to have an incensory for the morning and evening incensing and a small hanging oil lamp, which is constantly alight. Every night the faithful reads the Introit-Short Hymn and the Magnificat of the Saint like a prayer. In the past, during the holydays supplications used to be chanted and the first day of every month, a priest would come to the house for the holy water rites.
Besides the ritual part of the hospitality of the icon, an important obligation of the "panigiras" is the maintenance of the icon. Disinsections and varnishings are carried out while the faithful often call specialists for the preservation of the icon. Sometimes, with his vow the panigiras commits himself to frame the icon or to gild or silver it.
Having fulfilled all his obligations the panigiras reaches the zenith of the expression of his gratitude to the Saint by organizing his festival/feast. First of all, he must whitewash the church, clean it and decorate it with flags. He also must order the consecrated bread for the holy bread that shall be distributed to the faithful, the obleys and the pastelis for the treats. The panigiras must also call at the feast the people who possibly do not know it and of course he must remind it to the priests and the chanters.
On the day of the feast, the panigiras must return the icon to its temple. If the distance between the house of the panigiras and the church is short, the icon shall be transferred by the panigiras himself and the rest of the faithful shall follow him. When they arrive to the church, the vespers shall take place and afterwards food shall be offered on the special "tables of love".
The panigiras is responsible for that part too. The preparation of the food I carried out by the "cooks" and finally the "waiters" shall give the food to the frequenters. The main dishes are the traditional chick pea soup, olives, and braized meat with potatoes or spaghetti and during fasting, codfish. The wine must be abundant! During dinner the attendants hit their spoons against the table (this is called: "koutaloktipimata") toasting: "here’s to the panigiras"!
Thus, the festival (feast) goes on till the morning with dances and singings and the attendants articulating honorary "poems" or "rhymes" for the panigiras, which are often improvised that same moment! During the night supplications continue to take place before the Saint’s icon inside the church. The faithful go from the festival to the church and vice versa. They all must greet "Her grace" or "His grace" before the morning comes, when it is going to leave the church again to be taken at a new panigiras’ house for a year, up to the same day of the following year that it is going to return to the church for a few hours. The only icon that never leaves the island and which is placed in the bishopric of the village of the panigiras for the whole year, is the icon of "Chrissopigi" the protector of Sifnos!
Some of the festivals (feasts) that are celebrated during the tourist period are:
- May or June (movable feast):The feast of the Assumption, when the protector of Sifnos is celebrated. Chrissopigi!
- 19 of June: The feast of Profitis Helias (many synonymous monasteries in Sifnos celebrate). It is worth going to the feast of Prophitis Helias Apsilos.
- 26 of July: The feast of Agios Panteleimonas in Cheronissos
- 14 of August: The feast of Panagia (Virgin Mary) (many synonymous monasteries of Sifnos celebrate). It is worth going to the feast of Panagia "to Toso Nero" (which means: So Much Water)
- 28 of August: The feast of Agios Ioannis Nisteftis in Faros
- 31 of August: The feast of Agios Simeon in Kamares
- 5 of September: The feast of Taxiarhis in Vathi
- 6 of September: The feast of Agios Sozon
- 8 of September: The birthday of the Virgin Mary at the Iera Moni of Vryssi in Exambella
- 13 of September: The feast of Stavros in Faros and in Choni
- 14 of September: The feast of Agios Nikitas in Seladi
In Sifnos there are more than 360 churches and monasteries! Most of the days of the year festivals are taking place! Do not miss the opportunity to attend them! Ask the locals if one of the days of your stay in the island there is any festival. You shall live a unique experience!