March 25 Greek National holiday

On March 25 Greece celebrates its liberation from Turkish slavery. It is both a national (revolution against the Turks) and religious holiday (Annunciation). It is the nameday for Vangelis or Evangelos and Vangelio or Evangelia or Eva.

In 1453 the Byzantine Empire fell to the Turks and the Greeks remained captive under the Ottoman rule for nearly 400 years. During this time their language, their religion and their sense of identity remained strong.

On March 25, 1821, the bishop Germanos of Patras raised the Greek flag at the Monastery of Agia Lavra in Peloponnese
and a Greek revolution broke out against Turkish slavery. The people of Greece shouted "Freedom or Death" and they fought the War of Independence for 9 years (1821-1829) until a small part of modern Greece was finally liberated and it was declared an independent nation.

Every year, on this day, there is a school flag parade in every town and village. Here are some photos I took from the parade in the Island of Rhodos Greece.