Skopelos Carnival Customs

The island does not seem to forget the ancient tradition of Dionysian rituals made in honor of Staphylos and Dionysus.

On Barbeque Thursday (Tsiknopempti, also known as Meat Thursday and Smoky Thursday) people dress up in carnival costumes, feast and tell ribald Dionysian songs.

The penultimate Sunday of Carnival is the custom of "trata"(trawl).The trawl is a big ship made ​​of reeds. Children and adults get smudged and carrying the trawl, go through all the streets of the city teasing the attendees. In each square and alley they stop to sing and dance traditional chants. The custom ends up in the harbor side where with laughter and songs sink the trawler in the waters.

On the third Sunday of Carnival, Skopelians dress up in traditional carnival garments, which called "bramdes". They wear many silver tsaprazis (silver or gold jewelry of the old male national costume, worn crosswise) and go from neighborhood to neighborhood singing the epic song of "Vlacha". Crowds of people gather in the squares of Milos, Agios Ioannis, Christos, Panagia Papameletiou and Gyftorema, where they dance and sing, whilst housewives offer rice pudding, custard filled pastry and plenty of wine.

On "Ash Monday" in Skopelos they are accustomed to form a cross on their forehead with indigo and hang a strand of fragrant hyacinths in their ear.