The story
Galaxidi Flour War in Galaxidi
Galaxidi Flour War, or alevromoutzouromata, has run on Clean Monday since the mid-nineteenth century, tracing back to around 1800 when residents defied an Ottoman-era carnival ban by painting their faces with ash. The modern version floods the small port town's streets with coloured flour, soot and confetti from around noon, with music and dancing continuing until the ammunition runs out.
Galaxidi's Flour War began around 1800, when residents of this small port town defied an Ottoman-era ban on carnival celebrations by painting their faces with ash and dancing in the streets anyway, a small act of civil disobedience that has since become an annual ritual staged on Clean Monday every year since the mid-nineteenth century.