Greek Independence Day (25/03)

Greek Independence Day (Greek. Ημέρα της Ελληνικής Ανεξαρτησίας), celebrated annually on March 25, — is one of the most important public holidays in the country. It was on this Sunday day in 1821 that the uprising began, the result of which was the liberation of the country from the four-century yoke of the Ottoman Empire.

Since the mid-14th century, Greece was conquered piecemeal by Turkish armies. At the end of the 14th century, the Turks, having captured Macedonia and Thessaly, subjugated part of Central Greece. After the occupation of Constantinople (1453), Turkish troops captured almost the entire continental part of the country by 1466. Turkish conquerors established a military feudal regime in Greece. And, although the Turks left the Greeks freedom of religion, the Greeks constantly fought for their liberation.

The first major uprising of the Greek people against Turkish oppression occurred in 1770 during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768—1774 and was associated with the appearance of a Russian squadron under the command of Admiral G. in the Aegean Sea. Spiridova and A. Orlova. But this uprising was brutally suppressed.

The national revival of Greece began in the south of Russia. It was there, in the Russian ports of — Odessa, Taganrog, Kherson —, that a significant number of Greeks lived since the end of the 18th century. In 1814, the secret revolutionary Greek organization «Filiki Eteria» («Friendly Society») was founded in Odessa. Branches of the society operated in almost all major cities of Greece and in the Mediterranean Greek colonies. One of the leaders of «Filika Eteri» were the Ypsilanti brothers — Alexander and Dimitros —, both officers of the Russian service, close to the court of Alexander I.

At the beginning of March 1821, Alexander Ypsilanti, at the head of an armed detachment of heterists, crossed the Prut River and rebelled in Moldova. However, it was soon suppressed. The appearance of Ypsilanti in the Danubian principalities and in the Morea was seen as a signal for a mass uprising that began on March 25, 1821. This day later began to be celebrated as Greek Independence Day.

For the people of Greece and the World Greek Diaspora, March 25, 1821 — is the most significant date in recent Greek history. Celebrating Independence Day, Greece honors its heroic past and calls for a free, happy future.

On Independence Day, otherwise called National Revival Day, processions and festive celebrations, concerts and exhibitions take place throughout Greece. The holiday coincides with the Orthodox holiday of the Annunciation, which in Greece is celebrated on March 25 according to the Gregorian calendar, so secular festive events are accompanied by religious ones.

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