On 25 March the village of Nenita celebrated the Greek Independence Day with the children marching through the village accompanied by drums. Unfortunately, us volunteers only saw the students practising for the event but even the rehearsal was quite impressive. All the children marched in step and were very focussed.
25 March is actually both a religious and national holiday. The church celebrates it as the day when archangel Gabriel announced her pregnancy to Virgin Mary because it is exactly nine months before Christmas. Greece celebrates it because on 25 March 1821 the Greeks started a revolution against the Turks which had ruled the country for centuries. This revolution turned out to be successful eight years later and freed the Greeks from the foreign rule.
In the school they celebrated the national holiday one day earlier. The 5th and 6th class had prepared a wonderful theatre where they dressed in traditional Greek clothing for some parts. They proved themselves to be very good actors and really did an amazing job. Parents, grandparents and siblings all came to watch them proudly. Afterwards all the children played outside and waited for their parents. For sure, most spent the remaining day outdoors because the hot weather downright invited doing so.
To see all the pictures go into our gallery!
