In Thymiana this year, the Carnival was celebrated on Sunday the 13th of march, whilst others celebrated the next day. Typically the streets are filled with dressed up people, food stands and snack bars on every corner, and space for the parade to take place.
In the car on my way to Thymiana, I was told that this parade was good, but I should not expect too much, like Rio. That is true, it is not like Rio carnival, it is significantly smaller, but definitely worth a trip.
As I was approaching the parade, the music became louder and the streets became narrower as the crowds got bigger. At first everything reminded me of the national celebration in Norway, but then I saw the fleets. Hand crafted fleets with different themes, and music to go with it. Many people were dancing in the streets, some were drinking free Chios beer, and others were eating fresh souvlaki from the food stands,
The atmosphere of the carnival was happy, everyone seemed happy, children dressed up as Disney princesses, was sitting on their fathers shoulders in order to see everything and boys dressed up as pirates or superheroes, were running around play fighting with their imaginary weapons.
Some of the fleets were so good; it must have taken them months to build. My personal favorite was a fleet that looked like a cake and a woman dressed as a princess was standing on top of the cake and on the bottom of the cake, there were small children dressed as bakers. Later that afternoon I saw children running after the same princess asking to dance with her.
When the parade finished 1,5 hours after I arrived, the streets were filled with confetti and other party supplies. We followed the crowd to a space were you could buy souvlaki and beverages, and they were playing traditional music for everyone to dance to.
This was a great experience, a great celebration for people in any age to enjoy.
To see all pictures go into our gallery!
