A custom fell just short of catching fire at a school in a village in Chania, Crete, as the fire they had set to burn Judas didn’t go as they expected.
More specifically, the Gymnasium of Nea Kydonia, in Chania, was badly damaged last night, Good Friday 10.04.2026, by a fire caused by the founara, as the fire they had built to burn Judas is called in Cretan dialect.
Flames from the flames caused damage to the school’s pergola, part of the courtyard and a classroom.
There are also reports that the school’s principal had alerted the authorities that minors were gathering branches for Judas, and there was some confrontation with a neighbour, according to patris.gr.
From the Municipality of Chania cleaned the area and will restore the room until the school reopens after the Easter holidays.
The Fire Department of Chania is conducting the relevant investigation ex officio, as it is a fire damage to a public building.
