Good Friday

Orthodox Good Friday, Megali Paraskevi, is the most solemn day of Holy Week in Greece and falls two days before Orthodox Easter. Services recount Christ’s Passion and burial, while parishioners decorate the Epitaphios—a carved bier bearing an embroidered icon of the dead Christ—with flowers. It is absent from Article 60’s list of compulsory private-sector holidays, but the Bank of Greece closes and special rules, collective agreements, customary practice or reduced commercial hours affect many workers. Shops traditionally open later after the morning decoration and services.

In the evening, clergy carry the Epitaphios through streets as worshippers follow with candles and sing the Lamentations. On islands and in coastal towns processions may approach the water; in major cities several parish processions can converge. Corfu is known for a particularly elaborate sequence of Epitaphios processions. Strict fasting households avoid oil as well as meat and dairy, and entertainment remains subdued. The guide’s date must follow Orthodox, not western, Easter, because the two Paschal calendars frequently diverge.