The 28th of october is an important date to all Greeks, for it is the date on which, in the year 1940, the Greek prime minister rejected Mussolini’s ultimatum. The ultimatum was about axis forces entering Greek territory and occupying certain, unspecified ‘tactical locations’. ‘Ochi’ means ‘No’ in Greek, and since 1940, the 28th of october is one of the most important national holidays in Greece.
This year, the Ochi Day fell on a Sunday, which is why the celebrations at the schools were already on friday the 26th.
The 3rd class of the 1st primary school of Vrontados presented a play to the rest of the school, complete with songs and costumes. Afterwards the whole school had a little excursion to a nearby memorial, where they laid down a laurel wreath and spent a minute of silence to commemorate the fallen soldiers.
The 4th class of the 2nd primary school of Vrontados also prepared a little play with songs, which were presented to the rest of the school and afterwards also the children’s parents.
The 4th class of the 3rd primary school of Vrontados also prepared a presentation for their parents. After going to the church, they showed off the texts that they had learned, together with the songs they had prepared. Afterwards the older grades went to the lost sailor’s monument, where they also laid down a laurel wreath, together with many other schools of Vrontados.
On the 28th of october the real celebrations began. There were big parades of students, scouts and military all over the city, including Vrontados. The biggest parade was in Chios City of course.
We visited both the parades in Chios and the one of Vrontados, where we saw all of the children from the schools we work for.
It was amazing to be able to see the proud faces of the parents while their children marched in lockstep, which they had trained in gymnastic lessons before. But parents were not the only ones enjoying the parade. People of all ages, little children, adults and elderly people, from their seats in nearby cafés, were all carefully watching and enjoying the mesmerizing atmosphere on this special day. Another interesting part about the parade was to see the traditional clothes that certain parts of the parade were dressed in.
In general this is an experience that we can highly recommend for everyone who ever visits Greece during this time of year.
To see all the pictures visit our gallery!
