Teenagers in Limassol are collecting wood for traditional Easter bonfires, using stolen waste bins to transport materials through residential areas.
Video footage captured in central Germasogeia shows youths pushing rubbish bins loaded with wood along a main road.
“This is a daily occurrence these days—teenagers stealing whatever suits them from unsuspecting citizens’ yards, parading down Christakis Kranou Street toward Prophet Elias Church, cursing and threatening without restraint,” a resident posted on social media along with video evidence.
Amathus Mayor Kyriakos Xydias told philenews that while the “lambratzies” (Easter bonfires) were originally a tradition inherited from ancestors, today’s activities bear little resemblance to the custom.
“Unfortunately, this isn’t limited to Holy Saturday but continues for an extended period. It involves neighbourhood rivalries and ‘gang’ confrontations—a strange competition that creates enormous nuisance and destruction,” Xydias said.
Last weekend, youths took bins from homes and apartment buildings to transport wood, causing disruption throughout neighbourhoods, according to the mayor.
“As a municipality, we’re in constant contact with the police and report violations. We’re also on alert to remove the wood—which we’ve done in large quantities—to prevent further damage. My appeal is first to the police to enforce the law, then to parents to talk to their children,” Xydias added.
The mayor confirmed that police have already confiscated significant amounts of wood from three parishes in the municipality, but “the youths persist in disturbing and provoking entire neighbourhoods“.
Behind this “tradition,” teenagers appear to be demonstrating their presence in a competition between different neighbourhoods, with some on 24-hour watch to prevent “competitors” from disturbing their wood collections. More serious issues may be concealed behind the actions of these underage offenders.
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