Botides
Decorated windows with the botides on the balconies
Also called	Pot smashing/throwing
Observed by	Christians on Corfu
Liturgical color	Red
Type	Cultural
Significance	Easter
Celebrations	Pot smashing
Begins	11:00 a.m.
Ends	11:15 a.m.
Duration	15 minutes
Frequency	Holy Saturday
Related to	Easter in Corfu

The custom of smashing the botides (Greek: μπότηδες), or "Smashing of the Pots", constitutes a central Easter event in the City of Corfu, which takes place on Holy Saturday during the First Resurrection.

At 11 in the morning, immediately after the completion of the procession of Saint Spyridon and the Epitaph, with the signal of the First Resurrection, the bells of all the churches in the city ring. The start of the throwing is signaled the moment the Metropolitan chants the verse "Arise, O God, judge the earth, for you shall inherit all nations" (Ἀνάστα, ὁ Θεός, κρῖνον τὴν γῆν, ὅτι σὺ κατακληρονομήσεις ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσι). At the same time, residents throw the botides from their windows onto the street, mainly in the area of the Liston and the Old Town.^[1]

The botides are clay pots or jars, filled with water, with a narrow mouth and two handles on the side tied with red ribbons. Their volume varies, with some reaching a significant size. The windows are decorated with a red cloth, a color considered the symbol of the island.^[2]

It is a custom celebrated only in Corfu and has roots from the Venetian years of the island's occupation. The oldest reference to the custom is found at least from the 19th century.^[3] The Venetians then, as Catholics, would smash old pots on New Year's Day as a tribute to the new year, in order to bring new goods to their households.^[4]

There is a version that the Orthodox Corfiots adopted the custom and chronologically moved it to Easter, the period when the Venetians allowed them to celebrate the Resurrection only at noon. Another interpretation connects the noise of the smashing with the representation of the earthquake that, according to the Gospel tradition, occurred at the moment of Christ's Resurrection.^[5] A third theory attributes the custom to a remnant of ancient Greek ceremonies for fertility and the rebirth of nature in spring, during which old pots were thrown, so that the new ones would be filled with the new fruits. According to a medieval version, the smashing of the pots and their noise aims at the expulsion of evil spirits and bad luck, symbolizing the removal of misfortune and its replacement with the new year.^[6]

After the throwing, residents collect pieces of the clay fragments, which are considered to bring good luck and prosperity.

This custom is also accompanied by the local philharmonic bands. Immediately after the smashing of the pots is completed, the philharmonic bands (such as the Corfu Philharmonic Society or Palaia, the Philharmonic Society "Mantzaros" and the Philharmonic Union "Kapodistrias") take to the streets of the city again, playing marches such as the allegro march "Oi Grekoi". At the same time, in the area of Pinia, which was the old commercial center of the city, the custom of mastela is revived. According to this custom, a wooden barrel (the mastela), filled with water and decorated with branches and ribbons, is placed in the middle of the street. Passersby are invited to throw coins for good wishes.^[7] When the bells of the First Resurrection are heard, a citizen (now a volunteer, while previously the Piniatores were chosen, i.e., the porters of the area) jumps into the barrel to collect the coins.^[8]