In our brief passage through life often we get to the point of asking ourselves whether it’s worth it to live or not. The excessive consumerism and our daily routine’s rhythms have caused us to forget the biggest gift from God to Man: life itself.

Perhaps the road in our life is not laden with rose petals, but there are certain moments which are truly worth living. One of those moments is when you meet with people who know how to have a good time simply and traditionally.

I am referring to a moonlit night in Mohos in the Malia Township where I met up close with the Mohos Serenade tradition. That night became the starting point of the investigation for the serenade in Mohos.

The Mohos people are by nature people with a free spirit and indelible faith in values. They remain steadfast when their freedom, faith, customs and traditions are at risk.

And, they have fun in the same manner.

The Mohos people created, and create, civilization with parties and feasts in their own tradition.

In their parties, the dominant elements are simplicity, modesty, decency, respect, order, a friendly atmosphere and a fixation to the purpose of the lyre.

 Sorrow, happiness, poverty, well-being, love, death, life, moving to a foreign land, repatriating, heartbreak, desire, dreams and the daily toil are all issues to be touched upon at a Mohos party, and it’s done in a manly manner, with Doric frugality and controlled passion.

There is never any evidence of showing off in the serenade because the entire group is like a fist. Those who participate express a special soulfulness, an inner world without egos.

On countless moonlit nights groups around the village roads would be found singing. The girls’ hearts would flutter as they listened to the songs being sung outside their windows. Each serenade would end up outside some village home and the owner would happily get up and extend his hospitality.

Those were times when television did not exist and serenades were very much part of village life.

A serenade wasn’t just entertainment but a way to communicate and re-enforce relationships and friendships among the villagers. Even today the younger generation retains that tradition and the values, having been breast-fed in them.

It’s a unique experience for the visitor to party in Mohos company, as he can immediately discern through heartfelt sentimentality the beauty of their traditions.