The Thracian Folklore Festival or Xanthi Carnival, as it is more widely known, began in 1966, when some people from Xanthi promoted the idea of folk festivals during the Carnival period. Thus, in 1966 the Thracian Carnival Festival was organized in Xanthi for the first time. The folk tradition of the Carnival is linked to the ancient cult of Dionysus.
The Xanthi Carnival, the biggest one in Northern Greece, lasts for two weeks and includes a series of events with music, dance, theater, exhibitions, lectures, book presentations and cinema. It concludes the carnival parade and the custom of burning the statue of Tzaros.
In 2011, the city made the Guiness Book of Records for creating the world's largest carnival mask, over two kilograms heavy.
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