May in Crete...
May is a wonderful time in Crete. The island really comes to life as the tourists start to arrive in earnest and all the tavernas, restaurants and hotels are open.
May is also a lovely time for lovers of wild flowers. There are fields and fields of colourful flowers. One of my favourites is a beautiful deep pink wild field gladiolus (Gladiolus italicus). It is a much prized decorative flower that is simply stunning when you see it through the olive groves. You can see it in full bloom in the spring months throughout Crete.
On May Day, Protomagiá (1 May), it is a national holiday in Greece and Crete. May 1st is traditionally seen as a flower festival and the flowers of Greece play a central role in this celebration of spring and fertility.
Cretan families will take the day off work and school and go to the fields and hillsides to pick wild flowers.
Families will picnic in the countryside and pick the wild flowers to make into wreaths.
The wildflower wreaths are then hung above doors, on fishing boats, on cars and trucks and other places with the intention of warding off evil and ushering in the spring season.
You’ll see men, women and children with whole armfuls of beautiful and colourful flowers picked from olive groves, meadows and hillsides. Later they fashion them into wreaths.
Visit our sister site of Completely Crete for lots more information about the beautiful Greek Island of Crete.