Apart from a famous tourist destination, Santorini is an island with interesting and distinctive customs during Easter.
On Saturday of Lazaros, which is one week before Easter, in many villages and especially in Megalochori, a big "Lazaros" is placed. It's a big cross 15-20 meters high, which is decorated with flowers and rosemary. Οn Holy Saturday the inhabitants undecorate it and it stays on the main square of the village until the Ascension.
The Holy Week in Santorini is very interesting because every day there are different customs taking place in different villages. During the Week people from Oia visit the church of Panagia Platsani. On Holy Friday, the village Pyrgos is adorned with thousands of small lanterns and the procession of the Epitaph proceeds in a very solemn atmosphere.
The fireworks on the night of Easter light up the sky with different colors and shapes. On Easter Day, most of the villages burn Judas, an effigy like a scarecrow filled with firecrackers. A very interesting part of celebrating Easter in Santorini is the delicious tastes, like "gardoumpakia", a soup served on Easter Night, and "melitinia", small sweet pies filled with local cheese, called "mizithra".