| v>The month of March is when people all over | | | | parts of Epirus and Thessaly were also |
| Greece celebrate independence from the | | | | recaptured. Crete, the islands of the Eastern |
| Ottoman repression and the Feast of | | | | Aegean and Macedonia were added to the nation |
| Annunciation. The streets will be filled with vibrant | | | | in 1913 and Western Thrace thereafter in 1919. |
| parades and Greeks taking pleasure in the dual | | | | After World War II the Dodecanese islands were |
| National holiday. These two events are of | | | | also returned to Greece. |
| enormous political and religious importance and are | | | | Today celebrations honour this historic occasion |
| celebrated with great splendour and ceremony. | | | | with young boys and girls wearing local costumes |
| Liberation of Greece | | | | and reciting poems in tribute to their heroic |
| Kalamata in Messinia draws great pride from being | | | | ancestors. The re-enactment of the occupation |
| the first city to rebel against the Ottomans in the | | | | and the liberation of Greece takes place in all |
| 1821 uprising. âFreedom or | | | | Greek towns. |
| deathâ soon became the motto of the | | | | 25th March - Annunciation (Evangelimos) |
| Greek people and they continued to fight the War | | | | Churches all over Greece celebrate the |
| of independence for a further 9 years (1821 | | | | Annunciation â the revelation by the |
| â 1829) until finally a small part of | | | | Angel Gabriel to the maiden Mary that she would |
| modern Greece was liberated and declared an | | | | bear Jesus Christ â the son of God. The |
| independent nation. | | | | Annunciation is called Euangelismos (Evangelism) in |
| The struggle for the liberation of all the territory | | | | Greek, Literally meaning "spreading the Good |
| populated by Greeks continued. In 1864, the | | | | News". The Feast of Annunciation is observed |
| Ionian islands were taken by Greece and in 1881 | | | | nine months before Christmas Day. |