Oxi Day is celebrated in Greece and Cyprus to commemorate the Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas’ rejection of the ultimatum given by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on October 28, 1940. The name of this holiday is taken from the word the minister used when he objected to the Italian leader. The Greek “Οχι” is “No” in English.
A few days before the 63. anniversary of the “No”, on the 25th of October 2013, elegantly dressed students from the 2nd Primary School of Vrontados, “Panagias Erithianis”, marched from the school to the theater in Vrontados, where the big celebration took place. Banner bearers walked in front of the queue, proudly carrying their “Oxi”-themed banners. Besides the students, there were also parents, grandparents, teachers, friends and invited guests in the audience who had come together to enjoy the show and embrace traditions. Everybody enjoyed watching the performance and listening to not only the songs but also the poems performed by the students. Both the theater and the poems provided entertainment, but at the same time they reminded us about very important historical facts. Because of them we could experience emotional and joyful moments. In the performance we could see, for example, the final judgment of Mussolini, Hitler, and the innocent victims of war. Furthermore, some of the students showed their musical skills.
All students took an active part in the ceremony, they performed in earlier prepared costumes and in the background one could see decorations and paintings created by us volunteers. Although the whole celebration was in Greek, we could learn a lot about the history of Greece and the Greek-Italian war, due to the good acting.
Through celebrations like this, children learn from an early age to cultivate their traditions and values, they learn about the history of their nation, they hear traditional songs and poems, and they also, most importantly, learn to cooperate with each other.
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