A number of church services and school parades are taking place on Friday in all districts of Cyprus to mark Ochi (No) Day.
This is when Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas rejected the ultimatum given by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on October 28, 1940, demanding the Axis Powers enter Greece to take up strategic positions.
And it is an emblematic day of all Hellenism sacrificed for freedom.
The student parades which close down most city centers are set to begin around 10am and finish by noon. Roads will be blocked during the celebrations.
President Nicos Anastasiades and other officials take the salute by marching school students and veterans carrying the flags of Cyprus and Greece in Nicosia.
Cyprus, divided since a 1974 invasion by Turkey, particularly considers the day as one to not only remember the bravery of the people who walked in the past, but to focus on the future.
And to believe that its people can have strong and independent freedom and prosperity.
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