The “Gaitanaki”
Every summer on July 26th, the village square fills with color and music. The “Gaitanaki”, a nostalgic custom that was once customary to take place on Epiphany, is now celebrated on the feast day of Saint Paraskevi, when the streets of Eptachori welcome summer visitors. Twelve colorful ribbons are tied to a wooden pole, around which six pairs of young dancers—the “ladies” and the “gentlemen”—weave and unweave the ribbons rhythmically, dancing to the tempo of a waltz. The women wear the distinctive stofa (a traditional local costume), while the men don the fustanella, creating a truly unique spectacle. If you step a little back from the crowd, you can feel the melodic rhythm carry you to times when dancers, accompanied by clarinets, drums, and violins, moved from one neighborhood to another, despite the cold weather.
