Independence Day of Greece
THE
Independence Day of Greece is a national holiday celebrated annually on March 25. It commemorates the war for Greek independence in 1821 when Bishop Germanos of Patras raised the flag of revolution over the Monastery of AgiaLavra in the Peloponnese.
Greece is a transcontinental country situated in Southern Europe; it consists of a mountainous, peninsular mainland strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Due to its highly indented coastline and numerous islands, Greece has the 11th longest coastline in the world with 13,676 kilometers (8,498 miles). Its land border is 1,160 kilometers (721 miles).
Greece is considered the cradle of Western civilization, being the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, Western literature, historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, Western drama, and the Olympic Games.
On Independence Day, towns and villages throughout Greece hold a school flag parades, during which schoolchildren march in traditional Greek costume and carry its flag. Apart from festive celebrations, there is also an armed forces parade in Athens.
Greece and the Philippines established bilateral diplomatic and trade relations in 1947. The Greek city of Thessaloniki is open to enhancing business ties with the Philippines. Thessaloniki, located in northern Greece, is the country’s second major economic, industrial, commercial, and political center, and a major transportation hub for the rest of southeastern Europe.
According to official Greek statistics, there were 5,000 Filipinos in Greece in 1991, which declined to 2,000 by 1996. The Philippine community has set up a school for its children in downtown Athens. A large proportion of the community are women (81% in 1999), who generally find employment as domestic workers. In 2009, there were around 30,000 Filipinos in Greece.
We greet the People and Government of the Republic of Greece, headed by President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, on the occasion of its Independence Day.