"Dirty battles" In pure Monday

Today, on a pure Monday, the residents of Galaxidi arrange traditional “flour fights”. This holiday marks the end of the carnival season and the beginning of Great Lent.

In the “flour battles” (αλευρωμουτζουρώματα), passing annually in the Greek fishing village of Galaxidi, hundreds of people take part. The guests and residents of the village, starting in the early morning, put on special clothes and masks to protect themselves from flour in the face, since the essence of the holiday is to shower friends, neighbors and random passers -by flour.

Bags with multi -colored flour are harvested in advance. On the appointed day, participants in funny battles generously shower each other with multi -colored “flour”. The custom brings a good income to the treasury of the village – from Friday the hotels are completely filled.

According to local traditions, the roots of this unusual holiday lie during the days of Turkish rule in Greece. For the first time, the townspeople arranged street festivities with songs and dances on a pure Monday, in protest against the prohibition of the Ottoman authorities on the Carnival. Later, one of the main traditions of the festival was the abandonment of all the oncoming handful of tinted flour. Today, “flour battles” gained international fame and attract thousands of participants from around the world. The city hall of Galaxidi claims that they have a whole week to wash the city walls from the flour used in the “battles”.

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