Easter in Crete – What You Can Expect As A Tourist

In Greece, Easter is the most important holiday of the year. Yes, more important than Christmas! And when I discovered that we’d be traveling in Crete during Greek Easter, I was very excited. After all, we’d spent the previous Easter in Malaga Spain, and witnessed firsthand the amazing Roman Catholic Easter tradition of Semana Santa. I immediately wondered how Orthodox Greek Easter would compare. And I also wondered if traveling in Crete during Greece’s most important holiday would create any logistical problems for us. Ultimately, everything worked out great and we had a fantastic experience during Easter in Crete. Here’s a look at it all.

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Our Greek Easter Base – Agios Nikolaos

Originally Agios Nikolaos was not on my Crete itinerary. But upon realizing that we would be spending Easter in Crete, I started looking for the very best place to experience it. And the online consensus seemed to be the town of Agios Nikolaos – located on the east side of the island. A lot of this Easter love was due to the town’s unique lake which provides for a very scenic Easter celebration.

As you can see in the photo above, Agios Nikolaos is a beautiful place. It sits seaside, but it also features a lake directly in the center of town. This lake has a high cliff on one side. And this cliff offers some amazing views across the lake and out to the adjoining sea. The entirety of the lake is surrounded by restaurants & cafes, and it’s one of the town’s main focal points.

Agios Nikolaos also has a very active harbor and several small beaches within the town limits as well. It’s a very popular tourist destination in Crete year-round, not just at Greek Easter.

We loved the week we spent exploring everything Agios Nikolaos and its surroundings had to offer. In fact, I’ve already written a blog post all about our time exploring the nearby hilltop towns of Kritsa, Kroustas, and Ancient Lato.

First Signs of Greek Easter

We arrived in Agios Nikolaos on the Monday of Holy Week. And at first, Easter in Crete seemed pretty low key. We really didn’t notice much to suggest the week was different than any other we’d experienced on the island. This was very different from our Semana Santa experience in Spain, when processions and festivities happened every day throughout Holy Week.

As we discovered, the early part of Greek Easter week is mostly devoted to preparing for the weekend. There were definitely more services than usual at the town’s churches throughout the week. But for the most part, it’s Easter weekend when most of the biggest Greek Easter celebrations take place.

Prior to our arrival in Crete, I had learned to look for a very specific type of Easter bread called Tsoureki. We noticed it in all the Agios Nikolaos bakeries throughout the week and bought a loaf ourselves.

It’s an enriched bread (like brioche) and is baked with specific Greek spices and also orange zest. One of those Greek spices is called Mahlab and this gives the bread subtle almond notes to go along with the orange flavor.

The braid in this bread carries Easter symbolism – it represents the Holy Trinity. And the loaf is often served with a red-dyed hard-boiled egg nestled into one of the braids. The Red Egg represents Christ’s tomb and His blood. These red eggs are traditionally dyed on Holy Thursday, and play a role in later Greek Easter events.

Also, throughout Holy Week, I noticed decorated candles for sale throughout town. In fact, an entire candle kiosk was set up every evening in the main town square. Also, a religious store across from the town’s Cathedral set up street side candle displays. I later learned that these candles are often given as gifts, especially to children. And as you’ll soon see, candles play a big role during Easter in Crete.

An Evening At Church

Our Airbnb apartment was located only two blocks from the town’s main Orthodox Cathedral called Agia Triada (Church of the Holy Trinity). This was the perfect location for us to observe many of the various Greek Easter traditions in town. And as you would expect, the Cathedral was the religious focal point of the week.

It didn’t take long for me to notice that many of the religious services during Easter in Crete were broadcast over outside speakers. Consequently, I could always hear when each service was starting (lots of bells rang too).

On Thursday night of Holy Week, I heard the start of a service, and decided to check it out. As you can see in the photo below, the Cathedral is very ornate. The walls are covered with colorful Byzantine-styled religious art. And the service itself was very fascinating. Alternating chanting from the priest and from a small choir of men, lots of incense and candles, and lots of faithful parishioners crammed into the church.

(I later learned that this was The Service of the Twelve Gospels where the arrest, the trial, the crucifixion, the death, and the burial of Christ are all recounted from the Gospels.)

I always try to be respectful in situations like this. I try to stand in the back and out of the way. I took photographs only because several parishioners did too. But then as I was leaving, one of the parishioners in the back row invited me to take a seat. This very much reminded me of our time during Malaga’s Semana Santa, when I was warmly invited into the Brotherhood Houses on several occasions. Devout locals proudly sharing their traditions. Of course, I couldn’t refuse. And so I sat in the back with this man and watched it all unfold (But – it was a very long service and I did sneak out after a while).

The Appearance of Judas

Something else happened on Holy Thursday too. Judas appeared! A major tradition during Easter in Crete is the burning of Judas. An effigy of Judas anyway. Not all towns in Crete (or in Greece) burn Judas. But they do in Agios Nikolaos. And they do it perhaps better than anywhere else. After all, that lake is the perfect spot for spectacle.

And so on Holy Thursday I discovered that a small floating platform had been set up in the center of the lake. And on top of this platform hung a “Judas dummy” (dressed somewhat like a Greek fisherman) over a huge pile of dried brush. This Greek Easter tradition was clearly going to be unforgettable come Saturday night!

Holy Friday – Discovering The Epitaphios

The Epitaphios is one of the main focal points of Greek Easter. The Epitaphios is an embroidered cloth with an image showing Christ’s body prepared for burial. It is placed within a wooden bier called a Kouvouklion which represents Christ’s tomb. The Kouvouklion is decorated with flowers by parishioners, beginning on Holy Thursday.

On the Friday of our Easter in Crete, we spent the day exploring the neighboring villages of Kritsa and Kroustos (here’s that blog post again if you want to know more about these). We did make it a point to check out every Orthodox church we encountered while wandering around. Inside each church we discovered its Epitaphios on display. And we watched as parishioners would come in to take photos alongside it and pay their respects.

I’ve since learned that two services are held inside each church during the early part of Holy Friday. These commemorate Christ’s death and His unnailing from the cross. During the second service, the Epitaphios is placed inside the Kouvouklion – symbolizing the burial of Christ. The Epitophios then remains front and center inside of the church for the remainder of the day.

But later on Good Friday night, it leaves the church in very dramatic fashion.

The Epitaphios Procession

Our Airbnb host Stavros (who graciously guided us through all the Greek Easter events) told us to be at the Cathedral on Friday night at 9:00pm. I knew this was the night of the Epitaphios Procession, and we were excited to see it.

All of the Holy Friday Night events during Greek Easter commemorate the burial of Christ, and the occasion is overall quite mournful. It’s basically a funeral. The evening starts with a church service – a service that mourns the death of Christ and expresses hope for the Resurrection.

As it turned out, it was actually the service that started at 9 – not the procession. And so we stood outside with a gathering crowd, while the mournful chanting from inside the Cathedral played over the loud speakers

At the end of the service, about an hour later, the Epitaphios was carried out of the Cathedral and onto the threshold for all to see.

The Kouvouklion with Epitaphios inside was then carried down the steps of the church, and the “funeral” procession through the streets of Agios Nikolaos began, with solemn parishioners following behind. Certainly the entire population of Agios Nikolaos was there.

We followed the crowds for a bit, but ultimately made our way over to an adjoining street where we could observe the entire procession from a different vantage point.

We watched a band pass by, playing mournful music. We saw kids of various ages, dressed in robes, carrying candles and ornate golden icons. We also saw a man carrying a cross…

Ultimately, the Orthodox priests came along, blessing the crowd…

And then finally came the Epitaphios, carried on the shoulders of several parishioners, with a long line of mourners following behind…

After the Epitaphios passed us by, we returned to our apartment. But the parishioners follow the Epitaphios back to the Cathedral. The Greek Easter tradition is then for worshippers to stoop and pass under the Kouvouklion. This symbolizes entering the tomb with Christ and preparing for the Resurrection. It also serves as an act of spiritual cleansing and humility.

An Amazing Holy Saturday Night

The Saturday of our Easter in Crete was pretty low key during the daytime hours. Stores and restaurants were open and we had a normal day enjoying our time around Agios Nikolaos, including a leisurely lunch at one of the town’s beaches.

It was nighttime on Holy Saturday when all the Greek Easter fireworks happened – literally. This is traditionally the most important few hours in the whole Greek Orthodox year.

Candles are a big part of the Holy Saturday night celebration, as I mentioned previously. And I purchased candles for us at the religious store across from the Cathedral earlier that day. Just basic white ones – not the fancy Easter-gift candles (the shopkeeper very kindly guided my purchase). And we headed down to the Lake at around 11:30pm.

In retrospect, I wish we’d left for the Lake a little earlier. By the time we arrived, crowds of people lined its entire circumference – waiting for everything that was about to happen.

At the various churches around town, the Paschal Vigil was taking place (Pascha is the Greek word for Easter). This service was being broadcast over loud speakers at the Lake. And everyone awaited a procession from the closest church – a procession led by a priest carrying a candle. As midnight approached everyone around us started lighting each other’s candles.

As midnight approached, we could see that procession moving down a nearby street towards a lakeside platform populated with town dignitaries. And the chanting intensified.

Then at exactly midnight, a fireball from the cliff traveled down a wire, igniting Judas’ platform. And Judas went up in flames while fireworks lit up the night sky! Plus hundreds of burning candles surrounded the lake too. What a spectacle!!

All of this amazing spectacle marks the moment of Christ’s Resurrection. In fact at midnight, the priest exclaims “Christ Has Risen”. And the crowds responds “Truly He Is Risen”.

As I’m sure you can now understand, Easter in Crete (and even more specifically Easter in Agios Nikolaos) at midnight is truly something special to witness as a tourist. We’ll never forget our night at the Lake!

Post-Midnight Traditions

After the events at the Lake, we returned home and went to bed. If you know anything about us, 12:30 am is far past our bedtime – even when we travel. But for the locals of Agios Nikolaos, the Greek Easter celebration continued. Two more important traditions take place in those first hours of Easter morning – usually back at home.

Remember the Red Eggs? The wee hours of Easter morning is the time to crack them open. This is a symbolic representation of Christ leaving the tomb. And it’s often done as a contest with people cracking their egg against another person’s. Last egg standing wins.

And then everyone eats a light meal which officially breaks the fasting of Lent. This meal includes the opened eggs and that special Easter bread – the Tsoureki. But the main course is a soup called Magiritsa.

Families prepare the Magiritsa during the day on Saturday while they also start preparing the Easter Lamb for Sunday’s dinner. This Easter Soup is made from the lamb’s offal (such as the liver and lungs), rice, greens, and a lemony broth. I’ll be honest…I’m not sad I missed it. Frequent readers know that I struggle with offal.

But there is no way that I wanted to miss out on Easter Lamb the next day.

Easter Sunday – A Roasted Lamb Feast

So just to be Thorough, I reached out to our Airbnb host a few weeks before we arrived in Agios Nikolaos. I asked him if restaurants were open on Easter and if they served Easter Lamb. He confirmed that some were, but strongly recommended a reservation. In fact, he kindly made a reservation for us.

Traditionally, the Easter Sunday in Crete is a time for families to gather and eat roasted lamb. In fact, in some small villages, the whole town comes together at communal tables. Often there is music and dancing. It’s a day of happiness. A day for celebrating the Resurrection.

As I wandered around Agios Nikolaos on Easter Morning, the town was very quiet, and most stores and restaurants were closed for the day. However, some of the town’s restaurants did open in the afternoon, and several of these did offer Lamb for the tourists not lucky enough to have an Airbnb host like ours (here’s a link to his listing).

In the early afternoon, we traveled to the hilltop town of Kritsa – about a 15 minute drive from Agios Nikolaos. As we approached the restaurant called Thymisi, we could smell the lamb roasting…

And our dinner was delicious…..

And we enjoyed it while surrounded by many Greek families celebrating this particular Easter in Crete…

A Word About Easter Monday

Easter Monday is a public holiday in Greece. For us, it was a travel day. We left Agios Nikolaos, dropped off our rental car in Heraklion (click here to read more about Driving in Crete), and flew to Athens where we spent several days. While some businesses do close on Easter Monday in Greece, the holiday did not affect our travel itinerary whatsoever. The only inconvenience was that supermarkets and grocery stores were closed in Athens when we arrived (but plenty of restaurants were open).

Final Thoughts

As we did during Easter 2024 in Spain, we very much enjoyed our Easter in Crete this past year. One of the great things about our style of slow travel, is getting the opportunity to observe the local community a little closer – rather than just checking off the top sites. We love learning about the culture and traditions of each place we visit. And since Easter is so important to the very fabric of Greek Orthodox life, it was an amazing time for us to visit Crete.

If you get the chance, do not hesitate to spend Easter in Crete.

If you would like to read about the one time we traveled during Thanksgiving, then check out this post:

Thanksgiving in New Orleans – Great Food, Great Music, Great Times

Or if you would like to read more about our three weeks in Crete then check out these posts:

Heraklion or Chania – Which City in Crete is Better?

Eating at Ntounias: A One-of-A-Kind Food Experience in Crete

18 Things To Do In Chania – Crete’s Most Charming City

And if you need help planning an Athens Itinerary, then be sure to read this post:

How Many Days in Athens Are Best For The Perfect Stay