Kataklysmos or Festival of the Flood

Kataklysmos is a Greek Orthodox festival with strong pagan roots focusing primarily on water, Kataklysmos or Festival of the Flood marks the day of the Holy Spirit.

Coastal cities make the most of the opportunity, staging concerts and games near the waterfront, with stalls selling typical Cypriot foods and sweets.  
The celebrations are similar in most towns and include folk dancing, singing, swimming competitions, boat races, and the throwing of water at each other.
Even inhabitants of inland towns and particularly children – their water guns a necessary accessory, enjoy a good ‘splash’.
The feast of the Pentecost or Whitsun is marked 50 days after Greek Orthodox Easter. It is known also as the day of the Holy Spirit as it celebrates the descent of the Holy Ghost to the Apostles.

In Cyprus, the celebrations also hark back to the Old Testament tale of Noah’s Ark, the Greek myth of Deukalion and ancient ceremonies in honour of Aphrodite and Adonis

This is a great day to be in any of the seaside resorts of Cyprus, as all the major seaside towns have a festival or fair taking place near the water, and in the water! Kataklysmos celebrations take place during the day in Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos, Ayia Napa, Protaras and many other seaside towns, usually near to the harbour

This is a religious holiday in Cyprus, with Kataklysmos meaning in the book of Genesis, and in the Greek Mythology of Deukalion ‘The destruction by flood of almost all living creatures, in order to give birth to a new and moral generation.