The perpetual interweaving of experiences and emotions, the ceaseless alternation of life and death, joy and sorrow, winter and spring, – some of the dominant dipoles that each of us encounters in our lives – are symbolized in the merry-go-round . The colorful merry-go-rounds that are woven around its wooden column every year at this time and to the sound of songs and the movement of the dancers, revive the well-known custom of Halloween.

Tomorrow, the last day of the Carnival and the revelry that it dictates, the climax of the carnival events, varied according to the regions of Greece and their local customs, with the merry-go-round occupying a place among them. It is one of the Halloween customs that has stood the test of time and remains alive in many areas of the Greek Territory, however today it is less dominant than in the past.

The merry-go-round and its origin

The merry-go-round was brought to Greece by its refugees Point and her Asia Minor and it was perfectly integrated with all the other carnival customs that pre-existed and were celebrated in our country.

How do you make

To make and dance the merry-go-round you need a large wooden beam, 12 long ribbons of various colors and 13 people, twelve dancers who will weave the merry-go-round and one more who will hold it. From the top of the large wooden beam will start the 12 long ribbons (carousels).

In some areas the 12 ribbons, each about 2 meters long, are defined as follows: 3 green ribbons, 3 red ribbons, 3 yellow ribbons, 3 blue ribbons. And this is because the 12 ribbons symbolize the 12 months and each color group of them corresponds to each of the four seasons of the year.

How is it danced?

Each dancer will hold one and take turns in the circle dancing and singing and spinning the merry-go-round.

“Carousel filled with sand, it’s good you were the burnt one⋅
My merry-go-round, braided, tangled and golden.
We entangled you, my wretch, we entangled you to one side⋅
we got you stuck on one side, they told us, they lost the keys.
We entwined you and in Makris they gave us a flower”

His name

The name of the carnival dance – dromenou comes from the diminutive of the Turkish word gaitani, which means cord, and its use has been widely used in our country since the time of the Turkish occupation. Hence the adjectives: gaitanofrydis, gaitanofrydoussa that we find in folk verses and also the expression “he took a rope – a gaitani”, the equivalent of “he took a rope – cord”.

What does it symbolize?

As mentioned at the beginning of the text, the merry-go-round symbolizes the continuous weaving of experiences and emotions, the continuous alternation of life and death, joy and sorrow, winter and spring. In short, the cycle of life.

The “miserable and pitiful merry-go-round” of Andreas Karkavitsa

Of particular interest is the reference by the great Greek writer Andreas Karkavitsa to the change that the merry-go-round underwent with the arrival of European elements in the Greek way of celebrating Halloween. The description of before and after, in the text “The Carousel”, is extremely interesting and clever.

Thrown next to the emos, pitiful, with the colored garlands wrapped around him, he is carried like a bread, a true bread of the time and of the world, with a procession as if it were poor and pitiful, in the streets and tristrata of Athens. From the first day when the Trinity begins until the clear Monday when the madness ends the celebration, with the Camel and the Ropalas, the Carousel comes to complete the abomination of the Athenian Halloween fun. The men who knit it dressed in a paradoxical uniform, a faded, tight uniform, with tassels and bows, with ribbons and buttons but also with patches and stitches, with stripes and perches, wild mustaches and black faces, knights want to look and look charming. The men and women who untangle it with their short dresses and open necks and short puffed sleeves, the cape with the faded gauze and the dirty feather, the false hair, disheveled and lifeless like a sickly horse under the saddle, the me the half-worn socks and the shoes are crushed and on the neck the breasts are sunburned and the neck is dirty and disgusting from the perch and the sweat and the arms are not elegant, they want to look virgin for the first time and they look like torn and paralyzed creatures from the neighborhood below . And the wretched musician who blows and blows to accompany the weaving and the dance’s insane leaps and turns and makes his moan like the growl of a megabeast, rhythmic and monotonous, and the clown who gathers the well-wishing spectators in fives, complete the sleazy image and inspire disgust. and resentment.

“…And indeed the merry-go-round weaves outside. It quickly dismounted from the emo, stood upright in the middle of the road, each knight and each horse grabbed a rope and with the leader whistling and the musician playing, the impassioned dance and the merry-go-round begin…”

Only my landlady, Mrs. Stamatika, runs furiously, dragging her clogs across the paved yard, her thunderous chisel and her all-round body swaying like a buoy ironed to the bottom, as soon as she hears the monotonous sound and the shuffling of feet projecting into our narrow street . She even has the kindness to shout, asthmatic and her neighbors to see the sight, to scream at the other neighbors, to knock on many windows and to cut herself and wonder, the treacherous, how there is still a world so insensitive, to sit inside his work when the merry-go-round is spinning outside.

And indeed the merry-go-round weaves outside. It was quickly dismounted from the emo, stood upright in the middle of the road, each knight and each horsewoman grabbed a rope and with the leader whistling and the musician playing, the endless dance and spinning began. Around the children are standing with their hands in the pockets of their poor dresses, with their eyes wide open, surprised and grateful for the sight, the women of the neighborhood from the windows, the sunny ones, project curious with the children in their arms, others at the front doors and say their judgments and they smile from window to window and from front door to front door and from awning to awning.

Again, only my landlady, Mrs. Stamatika, now stands speechless, attentive, enchanted, observes and re-observes, with the delight of a painter in her moonlit face, as if she were once again to speak to the emo, wrapped in its colorful processions and with the procession as if this pitiful and wretched one, may Gaitanaki be lost on the other road…

However, it was not always so wretched and pitiful, nor did it have such a foreign aspect, this most Greek holiday entertainment. In Messolonghi, it was suddenly the best pleasure of the season and had a very Greek character.

“…They also had with them one who held the gold-embroidered chevre and threw it into the house, where they would go to weave it. If the house didn’t want it, it threw back the chèvre and the merry-go-round went on its way…”

The men who played it wore snow-white frocks and gold-embroidered caps and rich armor. The damascus sword shone at their side and the cypresses shone white on their breasts like the moon⋅ the chaimalia and the alyssia, the tokades and the melodaria, the palasques and the silver soyades were fighting in their midst and the silver-embroidered drink tied their beautiful heads and their light red-green shoes moved their feet to the dance.

Again, the angelic-looking children, dressed as women, with the small fez, the Smyrna on the head, the abundant and full-flowing hair, the gold-embroidered cassock, the slow walk and low gaze, gave the whole spectacle great simplicity and beauty. And this merry-go-round was accompanied in its elegant and formal dance by the net spinning, violins with strumming and sweet-voiced singers. They also had with them one who held the gold-embroidered chevre and threw it into the house, where they would go to weave it. If the house didn’t want it, it threw back the chèvre and the merry-go-round went on its way. But when they kept the chevre, the merry-go-round would start in the yard, the violins would accompany the dance and the singer with his sweet voice would start his stereotypical song:

“Carousel full of blood, it’s good you were the burnt one⋅
My merry-go-round, braided, tangled and golden.
We entangled you, my wretch, we entangled you to one side⋅
we got you stuck on one side, they told us, they lost the keys.
We entwined you and in Makris they gave us a flower”