March 25, 1821 Liberation Day
For the Greek people, March 25 is a very important day and deserves to be celebrated and honored until the world decides to exist. It is a national holiday full of patriotism where every Greek passionately and proudly remembers his origins and his willpower to be a free man.
On this date in 1821 (not so far away, this year we celebrate 200 years) it was the beginning of the war for independence from the Ottomans who for four centuries occupied the Greek territory making the population enslaved and subjugated. to a regime and a culture opposite to Hellenic thought.
White and blue flags that symbolize the motto of the revolution "Freedom or Death" ("Ελευθερία ή θάνατος" - Eleftherìa i Thànatos) are displayed in every corner and in every house, parades of the police and people in ancient clothes, musicians that raise hymns written in honor of this historic day so important also from the religious point of view that commemorates the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary by the Archangel Gabriel. In every part of Greece festivals are organized and the scent of food floods the air mixed with the taste of the proud spirit and the tenacity of not being subjugated by anyone that only a Greek has the power to have.
But let's delve more into this extraordinary event that is a source of pride and example for a better and fair life towards Greece. Let's start from the beginning, from 1453 when after the fall of Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire began its conquest in the Hellenic territory, making Athens the cultural capital in 1456, and then continuing towards the Peloponnese and Tresibonda forcing the population to take refuge in the mountains giving life so to the partisan troops (in Greek they were called Clefti which literally means thieves) who with quick actions aimed to disturb the stability of the Ottoman dominion. To counter them, the Turks hired the Romanians called Armatoli who instead allied themselves with the Greeks, reinforcing the revolutionary phalanx more and more.
The desire for freedom and independence, however, does not really arise on the Greek territory, but at the behest of emigrants in Europe. In 1814 the Filiki Eteria was born in Odessa, a secret organization headed by Alexandros Ypsilianti, nephew of the prince of Moldavia as well as a Freemason. The first real reprisals began in 1821 and then expanded throughout mainland Greece. A prominent man and promoter of the revolution was the archbishop of Patras Germanos supported by the Clefti and the Amatoli led by Theodoros Kolokotronis, the soul and commander of the Greek revolution. The Ottomans, however, responded forcefully to the first signs by carrying out terrible acts as in the island of Chios where in 1822 the whole population was slaughtered while in Constantinople the Patriaca Gregorio V and his predecessor Cyril IV were hanged.
These events, however, did nothing but fuel the desire to redeem their freedom more and more and many prominent Europeans decided to join the revolutionaries led by Kolokontronis in the Peloponnese and by Markos Botsaris in Missolungi. In the meantime, great powers such as France, England and Russia allied themselves with Greece, annihilating the Turkish fleet at Navarino in 1827, the year in which Giovanni Capodistria took over the presidency. In 1830 Greece finally reached its much desired independence.
It must be said that the Ottoman domination was very heavy for the Greeks, the Turks prohibited the use of the language, the profession of religion and the teaching of Hellenic reading, but despite these vetoes, the culture survived thanks also to the Orthodox clergy who continued to pass on habits, customs and traditions in hidden and secret schools like the one you can see in the beautiful fjord on the island of Kalymnos in Vathy where from the sea you can see a cave hidden by a tree in which the monks instructed the children to continue Greek culture. Another trick of the Ottomans to extinguish the Greek intellectual heritage was to favor the immigration of Turkish peoples in the region of Thrace, once a Hellenic territory, making the population of Greek origin more and more 'a minority. However, all their efforts were in vain because Greece in the end, after so many sacrifices and thanks to courageous men who believed in their ideals, managed to free itself from its intrusive oppressor.
As I mentioned above, however, March 25 is also important from a religious point of view. Precisely on this day, the virginal conception of Mary takes place by the work of the Holy Spirit who exactly after 9 months on December 25th gives birth to Jesus' the one who will save the people from sins.
And as the Greek spirit wants, we must celebrate! In this regard, tradition has it that on this day fried cod with a garlic sauce is prepared. In theory, being in the period of Lent, fasting should be respected but in front of such a majestic event, the Orthodox religion is willing to turn a blind eye but only for this day. The reason why cod is the dish destined for the consecration of the event is very simple, in ancient times on the mainland fresh fish was very expensive therefore cod was chosen because it was cheap and above all because it was possible to keep it for a long time in salt. then ready at any time.
I don't know about you but Greece amazes me every day and makes me discover things that fascinate me every time in a different way, as well as being a bottomless casket of traditions, legends, myths and that make me want to come back to steal an extra curiosity and get to know this splendid and multifaceted land better.