Easter in Cyprus: Traditions, Food and What to Expect

If you spend one spring in Cyprus, make it Easter. It is the island's biggest religious and family celebration, with candlelit processions, midnight bonfires and the smell of baking flaounes. This guide explains the customs, the food and the practical side of the holiday.

When is Easter in Cyprus?

Cyprus follows the Greek Orthodox calendar. Orthodox Easter is calculated differently from Western Easter, so it is often later, though the two sometimes coincide.

The whole spring festival calendar moves with Easter, including the Limassol Carnival before Lent and Kataklysmos afterwards.

Which days are public holidays?

Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays. Many banks, schools and shops also close on Easter Tuesday. Government offices close, and many families leave the cities for their home villages. Book Easter travel and village accommodation early. For the full list of holidays, see our guide to working hours and national holidays.

What happens during Holy Week?

Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday

The week before Easter opens with Lazarus Saturday. Children dress up and sing the lazarines carols. On Palm Sunday, churches hand out palm and olive branches.

Holy Thursday

Families dye eggs red, symbolising the blood of Christ, and begin baking flaounes and tsourekia, a sweet Easter bread. Many households also give their homes a thorough clean.

Good Friday

This is a strict fasting day. A common meal is fakes, a lentil soup with vinegar. In the evening, the Epitaphios (the decorated bier of Christ) is carried through the streets around each church, followed by the congregation with candles. In Nicosia's old city, processions start from several churches and meet at Eleftheria Square.

Holy Saturday

In the morning service, worshippers bang the pews to recreate the earthquake of the Resurrection. The Holy Light is flown in from Jerusalem and distributed to churches across the island. Late at night, people gather outside churches holding lambades, tall candles. Children often get coloured or decorated ones from their godparents.

What happens at midnight on Holy Saturday?

At midnight the priest announces Christos Anesti ("Christ is risen"), and the congregation replies Alithos Anesti ("Truly he is risen"). Candles are lit from the Holy Light, fireworks go off and, in many communities, a large bonfire called the lambratzia is lit, symbolising the burning of Judas. Authorities set safety rules for these bonfires each year.

Afterwards, families go home to break the fast with avgolemono (egg and lemon soup) and play tsougrisma, tapping red eggs together to see whose cracks first.

What do people eat at Easter in Cyprus?

• Flaounes: Pastries filled with flaouna cheese, eggs and mint, often with raisins and a sesame crust. They are the symbol of Cypriot Easter.
• Red eggs: Dyed on Holy Thursday and used for egg-tapping.
• Avgolemono: Chicken soup with egg and lemon, eaten after the midnight service.
• Souvla: Large chunks of lamb or pork slow-roasted on skewers over charcoal, usually cooked outdoors on Easter Sunday.
• Koulourakia and tsourekia: Sweet biscuits and braided bread.

Bakeries sell flaounes in the weeks before Easter if you do not bake your own. For more on Cypriot food, read our guide to traditional desserts.

What should visitors and new residents expect?

• Attend a service: Visitors are welcome. For Holy Saturday, arrive before 11pm to find space. Larger churches overflow into the street.
• Dress modestly: Cover your shoulders and knees, even at night.
• Noise: Expect fireworks and firecrackers around midnight. Keep pets indoors.
• Shopping: Do your food shopping early in the week. Supermarkets get very busy on Holy Thursday and Saturday, and many shops close on Sunday and Monday.
• Traffic: Roads to the villages are busy on Holy Friday afternoon and Easter Monday evening.
• Invitations: If neighbours invite you to Easter lunch, bring something small, such as pastries, wine or flowers.

What to do next

• Check upcoming events on our events page and plan the year with Cyprus festivals month by month.
• After Easter, join the seaside fun at Kataklysmos in Larnaca.
• If you are new to the island, our moving checklist covers the practical first steps.