With hundreds of white, blue, red, blue and pink ribbons the epitaphs of Panagia in Corfu were decorated this year.
The custom of the ribbon-wearing epitaphs on the island is lost in the depths of the centuries, while the preparation of the decoration of the epitaph begins many days before August 15th. Women and men of the island's cultural associations spend many days and nights every year tying the ribbons to the epitaphs of the Virgin Mary so that they are ready for the processions that will take place on the eve of the feast and on the day of the feast for the pilgrimage.
The ribbons symbolizing the Holy Belt given by the Virgin Mary to the Apostles will remain for about a week on the Epitaph of the Virgin Mary and will be distributed, after the end of the nine days to all the faithful, at the Great Vespers that will be read in the churches. According to religious tradition, the blessed ribbons of the Virgin Mary are kept in the iconostasis of the faithful to bring prosperity and health to the family.
