Events in Xanthi Prefecture

The largest event in Xanthi is the fifteen-day carnival, when the town enjoys the festivities that include, concerts, music and dance nights, theatrical plays, exhibitions, cycle tours and games. The celebrations end with the burning of an effigy of the “Carnival King” on the banks of the Kosynthos River.

In May, the youth festival takes place with the students of the town present their work through cultural exhibitions and concerts.

The Hatzidakeio Festival, one of the more important cultural activities, is dedicated to the memory of the composer Hatzidaki. It is organised each year in October, and includes choral nights (hosting more than 300 chorus from Greece and abroad).

Events in the District:

The Dimokriteia Festival takes place in the village of Avdira at the end of July. Well-known artists hold concerts and plays.

The Festival of the Patatiada takes place in August and is in honour of the humble yet versatile potato in the region of Diomideia-Feloni, 5 km from Xanthi. The visitor can try dishes, where the potato is always the basic ingredient. Theatrical plays, folk feasts and athletic events are part of the potato Festival. 

There is a custom from the Eastern Romylia, that the residents of Stavroupolis still preserve, the custom of the Camel. Animal skins and old clothes are sewn together to make the shape of a camel. Then two men of the village become the camel's front and back legs, while a third, dressed as an Arab, leads the camel around the village. The residents give delicacies to the camel and money to the cameleer.

In many villages of the Prefecture, but mainly in New Kessani and Maggana the custom of “Babos” also known as Ginekokratia takes place on 8 January. The married women of the village dress in traditional costumes visit the midwife of the village, and they offer her gifts, honouring her for the children she has delivered. The men of the village must not leave their houses on this day.