Greek school children paraded before officials at Syntagma Square on Sunday to celebrate Greek Independence Day (March 25) and the 1821 Greek War of Independence.
Officials included Education Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis and Athens Mayor Charis Doukas.
Leading the parade were high schools students of Kalavryta wearing traditional costumes and carrying a banner of the Greek Revolution. A total of 230 schools from primary to secondary level took part, with 229 schools and nearly 1,500 students coming from Athens. Also participating were the City of Athens Philharmonic Orchestra and music bands of the Hellenic Police, Hellenic Air Force, and the Fire Brigade.
Before the parade, officials laid wreaths at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier.
In comments following the parade, Minister Pierrakakis said that the historical day “teaches us how our country and our people can achieve miracles through faith, boldness, and fortitude.” In addition, the day’s religious celebration of Orthodoxy “underlines the need for relations of solidarity between state and church.”
Mayor Doukas cited a Greek Independence fighter’s memoirs (Makrygiannis) that spoke of serving ‘the We, not the Me,’ for a brighter future with justice and the protection of human rights.
(amna.gr)
