the burning of judas the traitor
In the town of Souda near the city of Chania, the young people gather every year, to create an effigy of Judas, the man who betrayed Jesus. All their work is going to be destroyed. When the priest says "Jesus is ressurected", they will put fire on the woods they have gathered and what took them weeks to create will be burnt.
This year, their creation was particularly impressive. A tow truck helped them make the gallows. Its height was more than 8 metres. "In the old times, we used to make them even bigger", an older man said to me. "We used to make them twice as high", he said in front of the amazed eyes of his son.
It is an old tradition here in Souda to create spectacular effigies of Judas, as is the easter custom in Greece. It brings together the youth of the town, it connects different generations. They all have a story to say, of the Judas they made when they were young. in the ephemeral form of an effigy that is made to be burnt people make meaning.
And when it all ends and everyone else has left, those young people who spent weeks to create something that its purpose was to be destroyed in a matter of minutes, they don't go back to their homes, they stay there around the fire that slowly fades away.
They cook meat and drink wine, they share their stories with laughter, like warriors who have just won a battle, they celebrate, with a promise that the burning of the effigy of traitor Judas will be even more spectacular the coming year.
