GREEK NATIONAL DAY - 25 MARCH

25η Μαρτίου - The Greek National Day

Today, the 25th March, is for Greece the date of our National celebration. We celebrate the beginning of the Greek Revolution in 1821 which lead to the rebirth of our the Hellenic Nation (Greece in greek is Ellada or Hellas and we are Hellenes). It is also a religious celebration, we celebrate the day Virgin Mary received the happy news by the Archangel, that she would give birth to Jesus Christ. It is called Evangelismos which means "happy news" in greek. The two celebrations are connected symbolically. The cross in our flag signifies the connection of our country with the Christian religion. The number of the waves in the flag, which are nine, signifies the number of syllables the phrase "Freedom or Death" has in greek, which is "Eleftheria e Thanatos". During that day we go to church, we attend parades and we eat bakalao accompanied by a paste made of garlic called skordalia. All countries have a national day, this is our national day.

The Greek flag and the Parthenon in Athens

Evzone or Tsoliades parade

 

Bakalao and skordalia