The Vlach wedding of Thebes a custom that has its roots in Dionysian worship and is revived every year on Shrove Monday was integrated into the national index of intangible cultural heritage supported by UNESCO. Thousands of visitors are flooding the venue to experience this event from up close. This festival is for the inhabitants of the area, and especially the Vlachs, an important part of their cultural heritage.
One week after Ash Monday and following the rite of the Vlach Wedding, on the name day of the Agii Theodori, the bride returns to her original home to visit her parents. Her return becomes the occasion for renewed merrymaking and dancing with the Epistrofia (‘the returning daughter’). In this custom we all become one group having a good time singing, dancing, and drinking wine until the morning – whether someone wears the traditional Vlach costume or not!
It is about a satire, in which a traditional wedding is presented through a wedding ritual. These rituals follow specific rules, in which mainly men participate wearing the traditional costume of the Vlachs and all the tools used at the event come from the traditional Vlach handicrafts.
This event has a history of 150 years and takes place in the city of Thebes every year on Carnival Sunday and Shrove Monday, during which the bean soup festival takes place.
