Every country has its own customs and traditions. There are many things that build one country’s traditions; it could be way of living, ethical values, religions, and many more.

Cyprus has a long list of cultural background, starting from more than 9000 years ago. And this country is proud to present itself to be one of the World Cultural Heritage Lists, which is given by UNESCO. One of the reason why UNESCO put Cyprus in the list is because its capability to preserve its cultural monuments. When you go to Cyprus, you will also realize how proud the Cypriots to keep its traditional values and traditions through ways of living, events, and celebrations that are going on all year round.

One way which the Cypriots do to present its culture is by its variation of the folk art. When you visit Cyprus, you can find the unique handmade crafts. The skills to create these crafts have been passed through generations. In some villages in Cyprus, you will be able to see and learn how people make the crafts.

Celebrations and events

No matter when you go to Cyprus, you will always hear about upcoming events and celebrations. Most of the events are made based on their religion beliefs, which is a great part of its tradition. You would hear about festivals, wedding, saint’s day, etc almost every week. In Cyprus, people tend to celebrate saint’s day instead of birthdays. This is a part of a tradition which has been going on for a long time. Furthermore, as Greek Orthodox is the main religion in Cyprus, and religion is one of the most important things that create the traditions, there are many religious celebrations throughout the year. But the most important celebration is Easter, which is even more important than Christmas.

In preparation for Easter celebration, on the Thursday the housewives usually bake flaunes, which is a savory cheese pie and tyropittes. Just like many other countries, Easter in Cyprus is associated with eggs as well. Here, the eggs would be hard boiled and dyed red with rizari, or yellow with marguerites. On Saturday, people would attend the church in the midnight mass. Afterwards, there would be bon fire outside the church. Sunday is the time when all family members gather together to eat souvla or ovelias, which is traditional roast lamb, as lunch.

Other festivals and celebrations in Cyprus are including the flower festivals, which is celebrated with parades and different kinds of entertainment; Kataklysmos, which is the festival of the flood; wine festival, which is celebrated during the harvest time, and many more. Going to Cyprus means celebrating traditional festivals, which something that you definitely do not want to miss.