Oxi Day!!🇬🇷
A big day here! Even before we left home I’d marked the date on my trip planning calendar. We were both pretty excited when today rolled around because today is a big day on the Greek calendar. Today Greece celebrates one of the country’s two most important national holidays, Oxi Day.
The word oxi means “no” in Greek, and the anniversary commemorates Greece’s rejection of an Italian ultimatum in 1940 and the country’s subsequent entry into World War II.
I found this description online;
In the early hours of October 28, 1940, the Italian ambassador to Greece, Emanuele Grazzi, visited Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas at his home in Athens.
On behalf of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, Grazzi presented Metaxas with an ultimatum demanding that Greece allow Italian forces to enter the country and occupy strategic locations.
Metaxas rejected the ultimatum. His actual response was reportedly given in French: “Alors, c’est la guerre” – “Then it is war.”
The rejection was soon expressed by the Greek population with one simple word: Όχι! – No! This is why October 28 became known as Oxi Day.
Within hours, Italian forces attacked Greece from Albania, which at the time was under Italian control. The Greco-Italian War had begun.
The Greek army successfully resisted the initial Italian offensive and pushed Italian forces back into Albania. Several months later, in April 1941, Nazi Germany invaded Greece.
It’s a very big deal in Greece and it is taken very seriously. it’s also the backdrop for the 2001 movie, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.
In the days and weeks before the anniversary, Greek flags appear on streets, public buildings, houses and balconies. Television channels show documentaries and films related to World War II, while songs associated with the period can also be heard.
Schools play an important role in the celebrations.
Pupils learn about the events of 1940 and prepare school celebrations with poems, songs, historical texts and theatrical performances.
They also practise for one of the most visible traditions of October 28: the school parade.
We figured out where to be to watch the whole process and then we waited for everything to begin.
There is a big gathering of clergy and dignitaries. The anthem is played by the band and then many green wreaths are placed on the cenotaph by the dignitaries, etc. The Greeks are pretty tied to their church and there was much crossing of selves after each prayer, all of it taking place right in front of our street-side location. Some of the process was not unlike our own November 11th Remembrance Day celebrations.
The difference in Greece is the involvement of their school children.
Here are a few photos from the parade;
It was such an interesting cultural experience and we were very fortunate to be here on October 28th. Across much of the rest of Greece many of the celebrations were cancelled due to heavy rains and storms which lashed the country today. But here, after some light morning rain, we were very fortunate.
And then we wandered off along the waterfront in the opposite direction from town on to have a walk and perhaps pick up a small lunch.
We found a little lunch, mostly salad and then walked back to our hotel area to do some shopping for our grandkids. All the while attempting to keep ahead of the rain that is forecast later in the afternoon.
After completing our shopping we made it back to our room and just after that there was a loud clap of thunder as the heavy dark clouds passed over.
And that’s about it for here today. We have one last evening here and then after breakfast tomorrow we will tour up towards Iraklion. We haven’t stayed there before, just used it to transit onto the island. Looking forward to what we find there. We both agree that this has been a very good stop on Crete.
Cheers!🇬🇷
Geoff
