Greece’s Top Five Festivals希臘五大節(jié)日

亞歷克西斯·阿韋爾巴克 趙曉囡

The Greek calendar is chock-full of festivals， and Greeks are always up for a celebration.

From sombre to downright riotous， you are never far from a festive occasion in Greece—the following top five are certainly worth planning your trip around.

Orthodox Easter

Easter is by far the biggest event of the year， celebrated everywhere with candlelit street processions， midnight fireworks and spit-roasted lamb. Some islands are renowned for their unique Easter festivities.

Easter week， or Holy Week， is marked by different events each day. It all begins on the Saturday of Lazarus （one week before Easter Sunday） with children going door-to-door singing the hymn of ‘Lazaros’ and collecting money and eggs. The festive spirit continues throughout the week， and villages， towns and cities come to life as locals decorate their churches and epitaphs， hold daily services， fast and follow specific customs.

Good Friday leads into Easter weekend with a day of mourning in recognition of the death of Christ， culminating in one of the most extraordinary nights of Easter week. Evening services are followed by candlelit processions through the streets， carrying the flower-decorated epitaphios （bier of Christ） and representing Christ’s funeral. Bands， cantors， clergy， women bearing myrrh， altar boys with liturgical fans1， and townspeople singing hymns all join the solemn cortege. Along the route， people holding candles scatter flowers and perfume on the epitaphios. One of the most impressive of these processions climbs Lykavittos Hill in Athens.

Resurrection Mass （Anastasi）， which takes place on Saturday night， is without a doubt the most important religious event of the year. At midnight， all lights are extinguished in the church and the priest uses his candle to light the Easter candle of a parishioner. The flame passes from candle to candle， light fills the church， and the moment of the resurrection is marked by kisses and greetings of ‘Christos Anesti; Alithos Anesti’ （Christ has Risen; Indeed he has Risen）. Afterwards， families go home and break their Lenten fast with a rich meal of traditional dishes and the fun ritual cracking of vibrant red-dyed eggs.

Easter Sunday is the day for celebration and feasting with lamb roasts and jubilation. It’s an excellent time to get invited to a Greek home. The leisurely midday meal on flower-draped tables often gives way to traditional dancing and fireworks. As an important place of Christian pilgrimage， the Monastery of St John the Theologian on Patmos has one of the largest celebrations.

If you’re planning a trip to Greece for Easter， remember： the date of Greek Orthodox Easter is tied to the Julian calendar， so it won’t necessarily match up with Catholic Easter， which is calculated using the Gregorian calendar.

Apokreas （Carnival season）

Some say that Carnival the world over has its roots in Greece’s ancient worship of wild， wonderful Dionysus， the god of winemaking， fertility and theatre. Today， Greece’s Carnival season is related to the Greek Orthodox religion， and kicks off three weeks prior to the fasting of Lent （from mid-January to late February or early March）. A host of smaller events leads up to the wild weekend of Carnival—known in Greece as Apokreas—which is resplendent with costume parades， colourful floats， feasting and traditional dancing. At Apokreas even small villages eat， drink and don （sometimes off-colour） costumes and parade in the streets. The celebrations end with Clean Monday （Kathara Deftera）， the first day of Lent， which sees families go on picnics and fly kites.

Each region has its own take on Apokreas. Head to Patra in the Peloponnese for the biggest and wildest celebrations. Skyros in the Sporades sees entire towns dressed as goats， copper bells and all. Rethymno in Crete celebrates with a bit of a Venetian flair. If you’re planning a trip， check the calendar： each year the date of Apokreas is different.

Hellenic Festival

Imagine the open， dark Greek summer sky overhead and the marble tiers of an ancient Greek theatre filled with a rapt audience watching art in the making. The most prominent Greek summer festival， the Hellenic Festival features a top line-up of local and international music， dance and drama. And， wonderfully， many of the marquee events are staged at one of the world’s prime historic venues： the ancient Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens， with the floodlit Acropolis as a backdrop.

The other key venue is the Unesco-listed Theatre of Epidavros， two hours west of Athens near Nafplio in the Peloponnese. The amazingly well-preserved theatre， which saw its first performance around 2000 years ago， has perfect acoustics and occupies a glorious setting amid pine-clad hills. Other events are also held in modern venues around Athens. The festival runs from June through August.

Navy Week

Celebrating Greece’s long relationship with the sea， fishing villages and ports throughout the country host historical re-enactments and parties in late June. Navy Week in Crete honours the island’s maritime tradition with music， dancing， swimming and sailing; celebrations are especially big in Soudha， near Hania. In Hydra， the Miaoulia festival celebrates local naval hero Admiral Miaoulis and the Hydriot contribution to the War of Independence. It culminates in a spectacular sound-and-light show with the burning of a boat which represents a Turkish warship， and fireworks over Hydra harbour. In Lesvos （Mytilini）， Molyvos and Kaloni see lively celebrations as well.

August Moon Festival

Considered the brightest and most beautiful moon of the year， the August moon inspires towns across Greece to host special nighttime events and parties. In Athens， stunning historical venues such as the Acropolis or Roman Agora open for free moonlit performances of theatre and dance. Each year the program changes， so check locally when you arrive.

希臘節(jié)日眾多，希臘人也熱衷于慶祝活動(dòng)。

這些節(jié)日有的莊重，有的喧鬧，碰上一次從不是難事。以下五大節(jié)日，值得你前去體驗(yàn)。

東正教復(fù)活節(jié)

迄今為止，復(fù)活節(jié)是希臘一年中最盛大的慶典。全國(guó)各地都舉辦燭光游行、午夜煙花表演和烤羊肉大餐。一些島嶼更是以其獨(dú)特的復(fù)活節(jié)慶典而聞名于世。

復(fù)活節(jié)周或圣周，每天都上演各種慶?；顒?dòng)?；顒?dòng)始于拉撒路圣周六（復(fù)活節(jié)前一周），孩子們會(huì)唱著“拉扎羅斯”圣歌，挨家挨戶地討要錢幣和雞蛋。節(jié)日的氣氛會(huì)持續(xù)整整一周，人們裝飾教堂和墓碑，提供節(jié)日相關(guān)服務(wù)，進(jìn)行齋戒以及遵循特定的習(xí)俗。節(jié)日期間，全國(guó)上下一片熱鬧、繁忙景象。

耶穌受難日與復(fù)活節(jié)周末相連，承載著對(duì)耶穌逝世的緬懷。耶穌受難日夜晚的活動(dòng)最具特色，節(jié)日氣氛由此推向高潮。晚禱后是象征耶穌出殯的游行，人們手持蠟燭，跟隨著鮮花裝飾的耶穌靈柩，緩緩行進(jìn)。樂(lè)隊(duì)、唱詩(shī)班、神職人員、拿著馨香沒(méi)藥的婦女、祭壇男孩以及唱著圣歌的市民都加入到莊嚴(yán)的隊(duì)列中。人們手持蠟燭邊行進(jìn)邊向耶穌靈柩撒放鮮花與香水。在雅典，最令人難忘的出殯游行是攀登利卡維多斯山。

周六晚上舉行的復(fù)活彌撒無(wú)疑是希臘最重要的宗教活動(dòng)。午夜時(shí)分，教堂里的燈全部熄滅，牧師用他手中的蠟燭點(diǎn)燃教區(qū)居民的復(fù)活節(jié)蠟燭。火苗在一根根蠟燭上傳遞，燭光逐漸照亮了整個(gè)教堂，人們相互親吻，傳遞著“耶穌復(fù)活了;真的復(fù)活了”的神圣問(wèn)候，這一刻代表著耶穌的復(fù)活。儀式結(jié)束后，人們回到家中，享受豐盛的傳統(tǒng)菜肴，擊碎紅雞蛋歡慶，大齋戒活動(dòng)宣告結(jié)束。

復(fù)活節(jié)周日是慶祝和享用烤羊肉的喜慶日子。此時(shí)到希臘家庭做客，真是妙不可言。圍坐在鋪滿鮮花的餐桌前悠閑享用的午餐，常常被傳統(tǒng)的舞蹈和煙花打斷。作為基督教朝圣的重要場(chǎng)所，帕特莫斯的圣約翰神學(xué)家修道院會(huì)舉辦最盛大的慶典。

如果你計(jì)劃去希臘體驗(yàn)復(fù)活節(jié)，請(qǐng)記?。合ＥD東正教用儒略歷來(lái)推算復(fù)活節(jié)，而天主教復(fù)活節(jié)是按公歷計(jì)算，所以兩者時(shí)間不一定重合。

狂歡節(jié)

傳說(shuō)世界各地的狂歡節(jié)起源于古希臘對(duì)酒神狄俄尼索斯的崇拜，他桀驁不馴、俊美無(wú)儔，集釀酒、生育和戲劇之神于一身。如今，希臘的狂歡節(jié)與東正教有關(guān)，在大齋節(jié)前三周開(kāi)始 （從1月中旬到2月底或3月初）。在最熱鬧的狂歡節(jié)（希臘人稱Apokreas）周末前，人們會(huì)舉行一系列小型狂歡活動(dòng)，包括華麗的服裝游行、五彩繽紛的花車、盛大的宴會(huì)和傳統(tǒng)舞蹈精彩紛呈，交相輝映?？駳g節(jié)期間，就連小村莊的居民也會(huì)大吃大喝，穿戴一番（有時(shí)不堪入目），上街游行。到了“凈周一”即大齋節(jié)的第一天，狂歡活動(dòng)結(jié)束，人們會(huì)去郊外野餐、放風(fēng)箏。

希臘每個(gè)地區(qū)都有自己獨(dú)特的狂歡節(jié)慶祝方式。伯羅奔尼撒區(qū)的帕特雷舉辦最盛大、最瘋狂的慶祝活動(dòng)。斯基羅斯位于斯波拉澤斯群島，狂歡節(jié)到來(lái)時(shí)，島上居民會(huì)裝扮成山羊、銅鈴鐺等奇特造型?？死锾貚u的雷西姆諾的慶典則頗具威尼斯風(fēng)格。如果你有意前往，請(qǐng)先查看日歷：每年狂歡節(jié)的日期都不盡相同。

希臘藝術(shù)節(jié)

想象一下這個(gè)畫(huà)面：廣闊的夏日夜空下，熱情的觀眾坐在古老的大理石階梯劇場(chǎng)，欣賞著上演的戲劇，是怎樣一種奇妙享受。希臘藝術(shù)節(jié)是希臘夏季最負(fù)盛名的節(jié)日，擁有本土和國(guó)際的音樂(lè)、舞蹈和戲劇的頂級(jí)陣容。令人驚嘆的是，許多重要活動(dòng)都是在雅典的希羅德·阿提庫(kù)斯劇場(chǎng)進(jìn)行，這里是世界上具有代表性的歷史場(chǎng)館之一，配以泛光燈照明的雅典衛(wèi)城作為背景。

藝術(shù)節(jié)的另一個(gè)重要會(huì)場(chǎng)是埃皮扎夫羅斯劇院，被聯(lián)合國(guó)教科文組織列為文化遺產(chǎn)。埃皮扎夫羅斯劇院臨近位于伯羅奔尼撒半島上的納夫普利奧市，從雅典向西須兩小時(shí)車程。這座古老的劇院于2000多年前開(kāi)放，至今仍保存完好，擁有完美的音響效果。它四周是松木覆蓋的山丘，風(fēng)景幽美。雅典周邊的現(xiàn)代場(chǎng)館也舉辦活動(dòng)。藝術(shù)節(jié)從6月一直持續(xù)到8月。

海軍周

為慶祝希臘與海洋的長(zhǎng)久淵源，全國(guó)各地的漁村和港口會(huì)在6月底舉辦歷史重演活動(dòng)和大型派對(duì)?？死锾貚u的海軍周以音樂(lè)、舞蹈、游泳和航行來(lái)紀(jì)念島上的海洋傳統(tǒng);在靠近哈尼亞的蘇扎港，慶祝活動(dòng)尤為盛大。伊茲拉島的米奧利亞節(jié)用來(lái)紀(jì)念當(dāng)?shù)赜⑿勖讑W利斯和伊茲拉人為獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)做出的貢獻(xiàn)。慶典活動(dòng)在一場(chǎng)壯觀的聲光表演中達(dá)到高潮：一艘代表土耳其侵略者軍艦的船被燒毀，伊茲拉港上空煙花綻放。在萊斯沃斯島（米蒂利尼），莫利沃斯和卡洛尼也上演熱烈的慶?；顒?dòng)。

八月月亮節(jié)

希臘人認(rèn)為，8月的月亮最亮、最美。8月明月點(diǎn)燃了全國(guó)各地舉辦特別夜間活動(dòng)和派對(duì)的熱情。在雅典，雅典衛(wèi)城或羅馬集市這些震撼人心的歷史景點(diǎn)會(huì)在月光照耀下進(jìn)行戲劇表演和舞蹈表演，免費(fèi)對(duì)公眾開(kāi)放。節(jié)目每年都會(huì)調(diào)整，請(qǐng)于抵達(dá)當(dāng)日進(jìn)行查詢。? ? ? □