Traditions and Customs

Local people respectfully observe the customs and traditions of the island of Kos, especially in villages, where long-established practices have been preserved intact and uninfluenced by the ways of the Western world. Local dances, traditional folk music and songs are revived on every suitable occasion, including patronal festivals of saints to whom local churches are dedicated, wedding celebrations and all sorts of events, organised by local cultural institutions. Patronal festivals of saints and traditional feasts are organised everywhere on the island. On the initiative of the local Cultural Centre, the Hippocratia festival is held in the town of Kos every year from July to September. The festival’s programme includes painting, sculpture and photography exhibitions, theatrical performances, poetry nights, concerts and performances by local dance groups. During the summer months, the Hippocratic Oath is re-enacted each Sunday at the Asclepieion.

In Antimachia, Shrovetide is traditionally celebrated with a masquerade procession led by the “kokhala” - a donkey head that snaps its jaws open and closed.The religious holidays Dormition of Holy Mother, on August 15, and Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles, on June 30, are celebrated with traditional folk dances, performances by local musicians and serving of food and wine.

In Kardamena, big patronal festivals of Saint John, on August 29, and Virgin Mary,on September 15, are held every year with serving of boiled goat and wine. During the Honey Festival at the end of August, a traditional feast is held, where visitors can taste desserts and sweets made from honey.

During the summer months, the Alasarnia festival takes place with a programme including painting and photography exhibitions, traditional folk dances, concerts, theatrical performances, scientific lectures, cycling races, chess competitions, etc.

In Kefalos,Shrovetide is celebrated with a masquerade procession in a jovial atmosphere. The religious holidays of Saint Paraskevi, on June 26,Dormition of Holy Mother, on August 15, and Saint John, on August 29, are celebrated with feasts, where visitors are served boiled goat and pilaff.

In the village of Pyli, Shrovetide is celebrated with a masquerade, a festive parade of floats and recitations of satiric verses. On April 23, the religious holiday of Saint George, horse races are organised, followed by a feast with food and wine served, while a patronal festival of Saint John Klidonas is also held on June 23.