Greek Easter's explosive customs

This case is not unique. According to the announcements of the General Police Directorate of the North Aegean, over 1,000 homemade rockets have been seized on the island in recent days. However, all previous seizures were “orphan”, that is, in abandoned buildings and steep places, without being accompanied by arrests.

The relevant Police data indicate that in 2025, a total of 469 offenses were confirmed for the legislation on sparklers, flares and fireworks. Of these, 123 were confirmed in April, i.e. the month of Easter. The data on seizures for last year's Easter are even more revealing. The competent authorities announced that they seized 95,539 firecrackers, 2,500 sparklers and over 35,000 fireworks. 2,155 improvised pyrotechnic devices were also seized, almost 2,000 of which in Chios. A total of 117 arrests were made. This year, by April 5, the Hellenic Police had seized tens of thousands of firecrackers and hundreds of fireworks, sparklers and flares.

This trend of “shooting off” similar items during the festive season is timeless. Characteristically, in 2024, out of a total of 438 violations of the relevant law, 101 occurred in May and another 65 in April – Easter was then on May 5.

As is easily understood, these cases do not only concern the island of Chios. In recent days, 18 “orphan” shells with gunpowder have been identified in Samos, in four different cases, while a woman was arrested for illegal possession and online sale of firecrackers. In Lesvos, a man was arrested for illegal possession of 925 firecrackers. In mainland Greece, last Thursday a man was arrested in Pella for illegal sale of firecrackers and firecrackers. In Athens, three minors were arrested for trafficking firecrackers around Syntagma Square – they were found in possession of over 800 firecrackers. Similar cases were recorded in Crete and elsewhere. By April 5, a total of 40 arrests had been made.

Fireworks bonanza

Apart from the rockets, which are usually improvised on the island of mastic, the other items we hear popping around us after “Christ is Risen” are mainly imported. “Golden jobs” seem to be done during the Easter period by various websites that sell firecrackers, sparklers and fireworks. These sites, based mainly in Eastern European countries, often do not have a policy of strict identification of the interested buyer. This “loophole” allows even minors to procure these items.

In the past, in Northern Greece, many “fans of the genre” would cross the border with Bulgaria to buy cheap Chinese sparklers for the celebration of Easter.

All of this, although it may seem innocent and ceremonial, has a human cost. Last year, at Easter, a total of twelve people were injured, five of them seriously. A year later, of the five injured on Chios, four remain in hospital with serious burns. The incident has sparked debate on the island, with some supporting those arrested and arguing that “rocket war” is a custom that dates back to the Ottoman Empire and should be practiced freely. The mayor of Chios was not available for comment. A police officer from the General Police Directorate of the North Aegean said by phone that he could not comment on whether the custom of the “rocket war” in Chios is illegal. The trial for the arrested “rocket shooters” was set for June 29.

“Explosive” customs

In addition to the “rocket war” in Chios, many other parts of the country have “explosive” customs during the Easter period. Every year after the Epitaph, in Agrinio, the “copper warriors” take part in the “copper war”.

The history of the custom is lost in the years of Turkish rule, when it allegedly happened to “remove the infidels during the Epitaph procession”, as reported by the official website of the Municipality of Agrinio. Halkounia are improvised explosive devices consisting of a large cylinder filled with gunpowder and a fuse at the end. The Municipality's website notes that at times this custom was banned due to injuries, but after 1985 it began to be performed every Good Friday in the city's central square, in a safer and more organized environment.

In Kalymnos, on Easter Sunday, the island "trembles" with the custom of dynamite. Two teams climb opposite mountains and compete to see who will throw the 

The most and loudest dynamites. The island's residents watch the spectacle from the central square.

Similar customs are also found in Athens. In Neos Kosmos, Molotov cocktails, firecrackers and sparklers "rain" on the evening of Holy Saturday, in a "custom" that allegedly began in 2011.

Thus, the Resurrection in the holy church of the Ascension on Lagoumitzi Street rather resembles a battlefield, without it being clear who and why started this particular practice.

Hellenic Police warnings.

For its part, the Police issued a statement warning of the serious dangers and reminding of the accidents we see - mainly in minors - every year at Easter. In previous years, most reports were of amputations and burns.

The authorities also remind that the manufacture, trade, possession and use of firecrackers and pyrotechnics without a permit is prohibited, as is the burning of sparklers during the Easter holidays. "Do not forget that sparklers and fireworks are not toys, but extremely dangerous materials, and their use poses risks to physical integrity and life itself," they note.