Lazarines
The Lazarines are a unique springtime tradition that will immerse you in the spirit of nature’s renewal and community celebration. This living custom is still practised in twelve villages of the Kozani region: Agia Paraskevi, Aiani, Ano Komi, Karyditsa, Kaisareia, Kipoi, Kato Komi, Krokos, Kteni, Lefkopigi, Metamorfosi, and Rodiani. The Lazarines — the women and girls of each village— spend days preparing for the celebrations surrounding Lazarus Saturday. They gather in konakia —designated meeting places where they prepare their colourful costumes — adorn themselves with elaborate jewellery, rehearse songs and organise the events of the custom. The festivities begin on the Saturday of the Akathist Hymn and reach their peak on Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday, with dances, songs, processions to churches and cemeteries, and festive door-to-door visits to homes. Each community adds its own distinctive elements: oath rituals, symbolic jumps, ceremonial use of eggs, or visits to memorial sites — all, carrying powerful symbolism connected to life, the awakening of nature, and collective memory. In many villages, you will also have the opportunity to taste the characteristic “Lazaropita”, a special pie prepared exclusively for the celebrations. Without doubt, it is worth experiencing the Lazarines tradition firsthand, which has been inscribed in the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Greece.
