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The "25th March" is a holiday which has a double meaning for Greek people. It is both a religious and a national celebration. It is religious because it marks Mary’s Annunciation and national because this day saw the beginning of the Greek revolution in 1821 against the Ottoman Empire. |
| From 1453 to 1821,
for 368 long years, Greece was ruled by the Ottoman Emperors. It was a very dark time for Greece. The people had no freedom. No education was allowed, churches were closed and the people had to pay taxes to the Emperor in Istanbul. The Greek priests tried to provide education in hidden schools. |
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| Over the long years people became so unhappy. Lots of little uprisings took place by groups of people who hid in the mountains and could not be easily found by the Turks. |
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Finally on 25th March 1821, in the monastery of Agia Lavra (in Achaia) Bishop Germanos called the people to battle and raised the flag of revolution praying that the Virgin Mary would help them in their struggle for freedom and would protect them. The first towns to rebel were Patra, Kalamata and Tripoli. |
| The Greeks managed to form an army and over the eight years from 1821 to 1829 fought with swords, guns and cannons. Tripoli was liberated first |
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| Although everybody fought courageously,
it is worth mentioning a few people who played a leading role in the revolution. These
are: |
 Theodoros Kolokotronis |
 Papaflessas |
 Makriyiannis |
 Nikitaras |
 Andreas Miaoulis |
 Constantinos Kanaris |
 Laskarina Bouboulina |
 Manto Mavrogennous |
Greek people who lived abroad like Ypsilantis, Kapodistrias and supporters like Lord Byron also fought in the revolution. |
 Ypsilantis |
 Kapodistrias |
 Lord Byron |
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In the beginning no other country cared
about the Greek struggle for freedom, but later Russia , England and France decided to
help Greece. Their help turned out to be of great importance. |
| 25th March is a day that Greeks
must not forget. We owe our freedom and independence to those people who fought heroically against the Ottoman Empire. There is a celebration in every school. The pupils wear national costumes. |
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They dance traditional dances
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They recite poems and perform plays.
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| The Greek flag waves in the balconies of
public buildings and houses. During the church service of Annunciation there is a prayer for the heroes of 1821. There is a parade of school pupils, scouts and armed forces in one of the main streets of every city. |
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