Every year, on the penultimate Sunday of Carnival, in Kranidi, the capital of the Municipality of Ermionida, the custom of “Lyriza” takes place with great success and continuing fun. Many citizens and visitors rush to see a custom that counts many years, but in recent years its revival is taking place. For the record, Lyrizes were considered the outdoor entertainment centers. They were held on the weekend, on the three Sundays of Carnival. Wherever there was spacious area, they set up the Lyrizes. A Lyriza that has been remembered by the Kranidians with great affection and that of Mavroidis was a great success ‘. Because the space was very large and the neighborhood was very cheerful. It was the oldest and the longest, it started in 1900 by his father Dimitris Mavroids and continued by his children Vasso-Giorgos-Makis and finished in 1958. In the Saddlery of Mr. Mitsos , which was near the Lower Square, the horseshoe workshop was empty on the weekends of Carnival and operated Lyriza. They brought an orchestra from Athens. The instrumentalists played lyre, lute, violin and a singer completed the orchestra.
They offered appetizers, wine and partied, dressed as masqueraders. The men in women’s costumes and the women in men’s. At the end they sang:
“Kranidi, I want to say Goodbye next year, who knows if I’ll be dead or alive or if I will be in another place.
-Excerpt from a narration by: Ekaterini Mavroidi, Fotoula Dimotsi, members of the Folklore Centre of Kranidi.
Come to revive the custom together and enjoy the bride and groom and the guests (dressed for the Lyriza) , who attend the carnival wedding and the various traditional dances presented by dancers of the Ermionida dance group led by Dimitris Kontokalis. The dances are accompanied by an orchestra and a feast is set up, which will indelible impressed upon your memory.
