Each region has its customs as well as its feasts. An opportunity to gather all together, eat from the same giant casserole, drink wine and round dancing. In the Aegean Sea and all the islands, small and large, known and unknown, the feasts celebrate the joy of life all summer. A diachronic way of entertainment originating from folk tradition, when people gathered altogether to celebrate their saint, the return of their relatives from abroad or to raise funds for undertakings of general interest. The fundraising is an Ikarian habit, which are also the most distinguishing feasts in the Aegean Sea. Impressive amounts of food dispensed by the inhabitants are cooked by numerous volunteers and served with love and cheerfulness. Each island has a different menu in its feasts, from the "kselouristo" codfish of Santorini to the delicious "patatato" (goat's meat with potatoes cooked in the casserole) of Amorgos, the kids of Ikaria and many more recipes, all of which have one thing in common: the large amounts of food. Everyone contributes in the feast and if not in supplies then definitely in labor. And once the music starts, dancing and reveling lasts till morning. Ikaria, the island where Dionysus, the god of the grapevine and cheerfulness was brought up according to myth, has numerous feasts all year round, in which the atmosphere is characterized as ecstatic. This feast attracts hundreds of people, who tune in dancing Ikariotikos (traditional dance of Ikaria), a unique experience you shouldn't miss. Karpathos has three-day feasts with the lyre being at its forte, feasts fascinating those who have visited them and speak of an amazing experience. On the 15th of August, several boats transfer people to the grand feast without cease in Nisyros. On other islands are organized smaller "homely" feasts, yet tasty food and wine as well as cheerfulness and dancing couldn't be missing from here, too. Before visiting an island spot the days of the feasts and write them down on your travel plan. It is this innate predisposition that leads people to have fun listening to the violin, the lute, the lyre and the bagpipe chinking glasses of wine and drinking to many happy returns!
