It is one of the most important days of the year for the Greek Nation: March 25th! It is the National Holiday commemorating the Greek Revolution and the starting point of the reconstitution of the New Greek State. But why March 25 and not 23 of the same month or some other date?
The anniversary of celebrating the uprising of 1821 on March 25 was established on March 15, 1838 by King Otto. The purpose was to connect the feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin with the Revolution. It was also the desire (as it is said) of Alexandros Ypsilantis and the Philiki Etairia to do something like this, so as to "stimulate the morale of the enslaved Greeks".
Flag decoration for March 25 in Santorini
The Phanariot poet Panagiotis Tsoutsos proposed in 1834 the establishment of a celebration of the Greek Revolution on March 25, stating that it was the day of the generalization of the revolution in the Peloponnese and the rebirth of Greece, in a memorandum which Prime Minister Ioannis Kolettis submitted to Othon as a proposal for a draft law. And in 1838, by Decree of the "mercy of God, King of Greece" Otho, March 25th is defined as a national holiday: "Considering that the day of March 25th, bright in itself to all Greeks for the celebration of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, it is a glorious and joyful presence for the beginning of the pro-independence struggle of the Greek nation on this day, we establish this day in perpetuity as a day of NATIONAL HOLIDAY".
Military parade for March 25 in Athens
The celebration of the Greek Revolution of 1821 takes place in Greece, Cyprus and around the world by the Greeks of the diaspora on March 25 every year, the day of celebration and the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. This day is a public holiday in Greece and Cyprus. Celebration events usually include parades and other festivities on the same day or the day before.
The biggest events are the military parade in Athens on March 25 and in Thessaloniki respectively, while the previous day, on March 24, a student festival is held in the country's schools. In other municipalities, there are parades of military units, students, clubs, etc. as well as eulogies in churches.
The celebration on this day was established in 1838 with the Royal Decree 980 / 15(27)-3-1838 by the Government of Otto.
Record
The 25th of March, the day of the Evangelism, was designated as the day of the beginning of the Greek Revolution, against the Turkish yoke, by the leader of the Friendly Society, Alexandros Ypsilantis "as the evangelized political redemption of the Greek nation". This date was considered as a point of reference from the very first days of the Revolution, and even as the beginning of a special dating, even in areas that had revolted earlier. At least since 1823 it was considered in the Peloponnese as the day of the beginning of the revolution.
In 1822, the provisional government based in Corinth decided to celebrate the anniversary of the Revolution together with Easter (April 2, old date). The celebration took place in Corinth with a military procession, solemn eulogy and cannon fire, as described by the German volunteer Striebeck who attended.
According to the author D. Fotiadis and others, before 1838 January 1 was considered a national holiday, the date on which the 1st Greek "Constitution", i.e. "Provisional Government", was voted by the 1st National Assembly of Piada (Neas Epidaurus). It is therefore believed that with the change of the date "the national holiday lost its political and revolutionary character and took on a religious tone" with all that this entailed for the claims about democracy and the constitution. The historian Chr. Koulouri, who researched the national holiday type celebrations from 1834 onwards, does not include January 1 but six dates related to the royal family. The main holiday before the establishment of March 25 was January 25, the anniversary of the landing of Otto in Nafplion (1833).
The leader of the Friendly Society that organized the Revolution, Alexandros Ypsilantis, began its operations and initiation in Iasi on February 24, 1821. However, the events there were characterized by the common consciousness and established by history as something isolated, something like preface to the Revolution. The complete failure of the movement in a non-Greek country, perhaps also the disappointment of the Greeks for the fallacy about the support from Russia that had been spread by the F. Company, were the main reasons for the separation of the events of Moldavia from the revolutionary events of Greece . The State validated the prevailing national sentiment by establishing March 25 as a day of national celebration of the Revolution.
According to some opinions, February 24 is also considered as the starting date of the Revolution, when the Greek revolution in Wallachia began with the proclamation of Alexander Ypsilantis Machos in favor of Faith and Fatherland. Since then and with other revolutionary acts that took place long before March 25, the revolution spread throughout Greece, until it ended up in the territory of the Peloponnese.
Hostilities had begun in Greece before March 25, as evidenced by the news that survived in the "Correspondence of the Dutch Consulate in Patras: 1821", since the Dutch government through its consul in Patras was informed on March 23, that "from of the time I feared a dangerous situation would break out and that the Greeks would take up arms against the dynasty".
The official declaration of the revolutionaries to foreign governments was made by proclamation of the "Messinian Senate" on March 25, 1821. 25/3 is considered the beginning of the Revolution in a court document of the Provisional Administration of Greece of 1823, where the "Provincial Criterion of Tripolitzas" ( type of judicial body) states that "the apostasy followed on March 25".
Establishment
Panagiotis Tsoutsos was the first to propose in 1834 the establishment of the celebration of the Greek Revolution on March 25, stating that it was the day of the generalization of the revolution in the Peloponnese and the rebirth of Greece, in a memorandum which Ioannis Kolettis submitted to Othon as a proposal for a draft law. He himself had written a poem with the title "The 25th of March or the birthday of Greece", which exists in a collection published in 1835. The document of Kolettis, then Min. of the Interior, is dated 22 Jan./2 Feb. 1835 and proposes to the King the establishment of celebrations with pan-Hellenic games similar to those of ancient Greece. His introduction is in French with a German summary. He mentions that the "famous German" (celebre Germanos) proclaimed the Revolution on March 17, 1821 in Agia Lavra, and that the revolution spread to the Peloponnese on March 25, which he considers as the opening date of a new era for Greece. He even says that there was a prophecy by the monks of the Great Cave that on this date Greece would be reborn, and that the Ottomans of the Peloponnese knew this and every year on this date they took extraordinary security measures (Diamantis, p. 314). The celebrations suggested by Colettis included competitions in arts and letters and in various competitions. They would take place in Tripoli, Athens, Hydra and Messolonghi, in rotation within a four-year period, like in ancient times the Olympians, the Pythians, etc.
Medal of 1836. Inscription: "GOD MY FATHER AND I EXCLAIM HIM - KALAVRYTA MARCH 25, 1821". Bronze, diameter 4 cm.
In 1836, the 25th of March was commemorated in conjunction with Kalavryta and P. Patronus Germanos with a bronze medal cut on the occasion of the wedding of King Otto and Amalia. It depicts the legendary scene, with the German holding a raised flag and a cross and two armed fighters in a gesture of swearing or saluting. It bears the inscription "GOD OF MY FATHER AND I EXALUTE HIM - KALAVRYTA MARCH 25. 1821" (the quote is from Exodus, vv. 2). The other side of the medal depicts the German.
The commemoration "in perpetuity" of the Revolution on March 25 was established in 1838 with the Royal Decree 980 / 15(27)-3-1838 of the Othon Government and specifically of George Glarakis, Secretary of State (Minister) for Ecclesiastical, Public Education and Interior. Glarakis was one of the main representatives of the Russian party, the Napaians, which at that time enjoyed the favor of Othon. Othon was trying to strengthen his popularity by engaging the appeal of the exponents of Orthodoxy, and this may be the reason for the religious tone of the decree and the establishment of the holiday. However, during the first celebration of the anniversary, in 1838, of the foreign ambassadors and embassy staff, only those of Russia and Austria and their employees were absent from the celebration.
The first celebration in Athens, attended by King Othon and Queen Amalia, political and military authorities and a large number of people, took place in the Temple of Agia Irini. The Metropolitan Church of Athens was founded on Dec. 25, 1842 and dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin to commemorate March 25, 1821.
In 1839, Ambrosios Frantzis mentions that March 25 was a day "explicit and implanted in the hearts of the Peloponnesians, etc. as the day of the start of the Greek revolution".
Later
After the official establishment of the celebration, and especially in 1841, there was an attempt to appropriate the anniversary by the opposing anti-Othonian faction, with private celebrations in which the figure of Korai was particularly prominent. The holiday continued to be the subject of partisan and localist controversies: in 1846 and 1847, Prime Minister Kolettis' decision to hold an official ceremony at the tomb of the Roumelite chieftain George Karaiskakis in Faliro caused particular reactions, as it was considered to lead to the identification of the Revolution with a single person.
Parades
Until 1875 the army was lined up along the route of the royal procession from the palaces to the church and back. In 1875, an army parade in front of palaces took place for the first time, a practice current since the middle of the century in public celebrations in France and the German states. The following year, although there was no military parade due to rain, a university phalanx lined up alongside the army. The earliest reference to a student parade is found in 1899. Schools were also lined up during the celebration of March 25, 1924, when the Republic was proclaimed. In the following years, the army parade was flanked by scouts and military school students. In 1932 the schools of Athens paraded in front of officials at the monument to the Unknown Soldier along with the scouts, the "city guard" and the "nationalist organizations". From 1936 the student parade, which took place in front of King George and Prime Minister Metaxas, took on an official character. During the Metaxas dictatorship, the parades of students and phalangites (members of the EON) assumed great importance and were linked to the military parade. The practice of student parades continued through the Civil War period and then into the post-colonial period. In various provincial cities, local colleges and universities also participate, such as e.g. in Corfu and Patras. In the past (until the 1980s) universities also participated in the Athens parade.
Often the holidays for March 25 are combined with events, such as e.g. dances with songs on the subject.
Celebration in schools
In Greek schools, of all grades, it is customary to have a celebration on the last working day before March 25, which includes dances, events and historical material. These holidays on average last around 2 hours and there are no classes during the day. Then a wreath is laid by a delegation of students.
Usually the preparations for the school holidays, but also for the student parades, start one to two weeks before, while the rehearsals of the parades are accompanied by the presence of drums played by students. According to a 2019 ministerial decision, attendance at rehearsals is deemed mandatory for students and they take place under the supervision of the gym teacher.
Celebration in the midst of war
March 25, 1924. An anniversary unlike any other. The Papanastasi government in front of the Old Palace (the Parliament building below). He has combined the national anniversary with the proclamation of the sovereign republic.
Work on the Monument to the Unknown Soldier in front of Parliament started late (1929). So the monument is not ready for the centenary celebrations. The unveiling will take place on March 25, 1932.
Celebrations for 200 years
The Bicentennial of the Greek Revolution, also known as Greece, the bicentennial year of the start of the Greek War of Independence. On November 8, 2019, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis inaugurated the Greece 2021 Bicentennial Committee. A group of 31 Greeks and members of the Greek diaspora were appointed to the committee. Gianna Angelopoulou-Daskalaki, former President of the Organizing Committee of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, has been appointed to the Greece 2021 Committee. The committee consists of people such as British historian Mark Mazower and Greek academic Eleni Glykatzis-Ahrweiler. Among those expected to attend the March 25 celebrations were:
United Kingdom - Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
Russia - Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin
France - Defense Minister Florence Parly
Cyprus - Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades
Russian President Vladimir Putin was among those also expected to attend, however, his press secretary Dmitry Peskov announced in late January that the president had no plans to visit Athens at the time. Another expected attendee was French President Emmanuel Macron.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis hosted visiting officials at the recently renovated National Gallery.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs a Proclamation for Hellenic Independence Day, in the East Room of the White House, March 2017, Archbishop Dimitrios of America stands behind him.
Outside Greece
Greek Independence Day is celebrated in many cities outside of Greece with large Greek diaspora communities. In the United States, annual parades are held in cities such as Chicago and New York. An annual reception at the White House hosted by the President of the United States attended by many prominent Greek-Americans has also been held since the tradition was first started by President Ronald Reagan in 1987. A Presidential proclamation is also issued to commemorate the day.
In Australia parades are held in cities such as Melbourne and Sydney, in Canada parades are held in Toronto and Montreal
