Festivals and Holy Days

6 January Ta Fota. On Epiphany Day, bishops bless the waters in seaside towns, throwing a crucifix into the sea to be recovered by divers.

February/March Carnival. Limassol’s 10-day long celebration features fancy-dress balls and a final-Saturday parade. It’s not Rio, but it is fun.

April/May Easter. Good Friday eve sees solemn liturgies everywhere, following by the parading of the Epitafios (Christ’s Bier) along main thoroughfares. The Saturday midnight Anastasi (Resurrection) service has the congregation lighting their candles from the priest’s, followed by spectacular fireworks displays – and, in Pafos district, dangerous deployment of explosives removed from the now-defunct Limni mines. These drown out beautiful church chanting, occurring after midnight. Cyprus Film Days (www.cyprusfilmdays.com). Nine-day festival of the best new European and Asian cinema, mostly at the Rialto Theatre in Limassol or Zena Palace Cinema in Nicosia.

May/June Pharos International Chamber Music Festival. A week of top-drawer concerts at Nicosia’s PASYDY Theatre and La Cavocle at Palaipaphos (www.pharosartsfoundation.org).

May/June Kataklysmos. The Festival of the Flood coincides with Pentecost, and this two-day holiday harks back to ancient times, when Cypriots convened at temples to worship and sacrifice to Adonis and Aphrodite. Today, there are excursions to the beach, parties, games, colourful parades and competitions at all coastal towns.

June Shakespeare Festival. Performances at the Kourion amphitheatre.

July Larnaka Summer Festival. Music, dance and theatre performances staged at the castle and the Pattikhion Theatre.

August Paradise Jazz Festival. A weekend of jazz at Paradise Place in Pomos.

15 August Dormition of the Virgin. The faithful gather in massive crowds at the leading monasteries and churches.

August/September Limassol Wine Festival. Twelve days of wine-tastings, dancing and folklore shows. Paphos Aphrodite Festival (www.pafc.com.cy). Several days of top-notch opera around the fort.

September Ayia Napa International Festival. Folklore, music, dance and theatre around the monastery.