Good Friday is the day of the Epitaphios, the funeral of Christ. All over the island, as all over Greece, every church brings out its own funeral bier and parades it around the parish. In Corfu however, the attendant philharmonic orchestras and choirs, the presence of thousands of Corfiots as well as foreign visitors, give another dimension to the gravity of the occasion. On Holy Saturday at 11 a.m. the First Resurrection and the "Pot Throwing" custom take place, and the local people throw pots out of their windows, smashing them onto the streets below.
In the evening, before the Orthodox ceremony takes place, you may attend the Catholic service at the Duomo Cathedral. With the participation of all Church officials, the Resurrection service finishes here at 11 pm, to permit the clergy time to pre pare themselves for the Orthodox service. All over Greece the ceremony takes place on a platform outside the church. In Corfu town, the service is held in the Upper Esplanade Square, starting at the Church of Agia Paraskevi, with the, participation of the Bishop, the philharmonic orchestras, and thousands of people
. The Resurrection is seen in with a roll of drums and an impressive firework display, and when this ends the bands traverse the streets of the town at a great pace playing cheerful music, with people running behind them singing.
The party has only just begun, and will last until dawn. The Resucrection is celebrated and the Lenten fast is broken with chilihourda (the local Easter soup), red eggs, fogatsa (brioche), columbines (a special bread of Venetian origin, baked in the form of a dove) and of course lots of wine. Easter Sunday at 7 a.m. on Easter Sunday morning, churches in town which possess an icon of the Resurrection parade it around the central streets, something which is well worth seeing. The parades finish at around 10 a.m. but the great Easter Celebration is far from over.