Traditional Greek carnival in Nedoussa village, close to Kalamata town, Messinia prefecture, Peloponnese, Greece
Preparations for the carnival with the participants smudging each others Greek carnival in Nedoussa village, in a beautiful valley of Taygetos mountain, close to Kalamata town, Messinia prefecture, Peloponnese, Greece. The carnival takes place the day after the last Sunday of the Apokreia (Greek for "carnival"), on "Clean Monday" as Greeks say, because it's the starting day of a 40 days period of fasting that will last till Easter. The whole village participates to this very special carnival that combines elements of ancient Greek feasts, pagan ceremonies, Dionysian cults and worships, in a strange "blend" with Christian ceremonies. The main idea is to celebrate the new year, that for peasants comes along with oncoming spring. This is a celebration about fertility, both of the land and the man itself, that 's why you 'll see many phallic symbols and sexual jokes and symbolism. The participants start drinking very early in the morning, wine, ouzo, raki or tsipouro, trying to achieve, step by step some form of ecstasy. They start smudging one another and then the main group starts walking around the village, passing from every single house, gathering offers from all the inhabitants, some fruits, dried nuts, wine, ouzo, local handmade sweets, food for fasting etc. When the "tour" is over, the people gather in the square of the village while the young men go to a certain house and they disguise, hanging bells all over their bodies, wearing some capes or ponchos and some peculiar helmets with goat or bull horns. They make tremendous noise with their bells and they go to the square where they perform representations of the circle of life in nature and man. They perform a tillage and a sowing, on one hand, while on the other hand they celebrate a wedding, a funeral and a resurrection. When both nature and man are reborn the feast reaches its peak! Really unique and spectacular, traditional Greek Carnival
Size: 5157px × 3502px
Location: Nedoussa village, Messinia prefecture, Peloponnese, Greece, Europe
Photo credit: © Hercules Milas / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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