Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Oxi Day



I took this photo of Foti last Friday after he came home from school wearing this soldier hat that he made in class. They've spent the last week preparing to celebrate Oxi Day, which is today.  Shortly after our little photo shoot Foti went to play in the yard, still wearing the hat. It wasn't long before he came stomping in the door shouting, "let Tarzan loose on the street! Let the dog lady get him! I don't want him anymore!"
I asked, "Why? Why would you say those things about your dog?"
He answered, "because he took the hat off of my head and ate it!"
I'm glad that we took the photos right away.


Oxi Day
Oxi Day, which is celebrated on the 28th of October in Greece, Cyprus and Greek communities worldwide, observes Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxa's  refusal to accept the ultimatum made by Italian dictator  Benito Mussolini on October 28, 1940.

Emanuele Grazzi, the Italian ambassador in Greece, presented the ultimatum to Metaxa at dawn on October 28, 1940 demanding that Greece allow Axis forces to enter Greek territory and occupy nonspecific "strategic locations" or face war. It's alleged that Metaxa answered with a single word: oxi (no). After his refusal, Italian troops stationed in Albania, along with an Italian protectorate, attacked the Greek border.
Metaxa's "oxi" marked the beginning of Greece's participation in World War II. The same morning, Greeks took to the streets shouting "oxi!"
 Since 1942, it's been celebrated as "Oxi Day."



For more detailed information about Oxi Day, have a look at these links...




or you can watch this documentary...






10 comments:

  1. Hi Cheryl,
    I'm a bad Greek, I didn't know about this day. Thanks for the mini history lesson! I love Foti's response about your dog eating his hat, classic!
    Take care,
    Angela

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  2. Hi Angela!

    You're welcome. You're not a bad Greek. It's hard to maintain traditions and recognize holidays that are important to a culture if a person isn't directly immersed within the culture. I understand as it's becoming difficult for me to observe and celebrate my American traditions/holidays and I've only been here for 2 yrs. And it was the same for my husband while living in the U.S. Although we do make efforts, it's not easy. :)

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  3. Hi Cheryl, I'm glad you are dealing with historic subjects. Please have a look in my blog where I have included your link! Have a great day. Hugs.

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  4. Hi Cheryl and Chronia Polla. Enjoy the holiday.

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  5. Cheryl This is a beautiful page! I know you must love living in Greece. Good luck to you. I must visit again.
    Elefteria

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  6. i think we need more 'no' days - what about 'no frappe' day, or maye 'no driving', 'no going to school', 'no working', 'no cooking', etc - think of the positive effects on the environment!

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  7. I'm sorry for the demise of Foti's soldier hat, but who is the "Dog Lady?"

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  8. @Phivos,
    Good morning and thank you. Awareness is important and so many people don't realize the significance of this important Greek holiday. Thank you so much for your support! :)

    Have a wonderful day! Hugs!!


    @Ivy-
    Thank you and episis! We did have an enjoyable day and the beautiful weather made it even more enjoyable. I hope that you enjoyed the day as well. Have a beautiful Thursday!


    @Elefteria-
    Thank you so much for the visit and the compliment. I do enjoy living in Greece but I really miss my life in the U.S.
    Again, thank you and I hope to see you here again!
    Have a wonderful day!

    @Maria-

    I'm with you 100%!! Like I said, Foti already has his "no" days all figured out. What's wrong with the rest of us? and BTW..OXI day is a day of no cooking for me I've decided. I've exploited the holiday for my benefit but I couldn't get out of making frappe. :)
    Enjoy your Thursday Maria!!

    @Biddy-
    Thank you. I felt so bad for Foti. He was so upset. The dog lady is a woman that has an illegal dog shelter in our area. She has 200+ dogs caged on bare earth in the brush...muddy and unhealthy for the animals. She's absolutely insane and has threatened any citizen (including us)that's taken civil action to have her filth removed. We've seen hundreds of rats and I'm sure that you can imagine how horrible it smells. We empathize with her and understand what she's trying to do, but it's all wrong. The dogs suffer more than any of her neighbors. We wouldn't want any of our dogs ending up stuck in there.

    Have a nice day Biddy! :)

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  9. Happy Oxi Day. George and his "Greek School" class are taking part in a presentation at church on Sunday. After church the entire congregation is invited to celebrate Oxi Day at our local Greek banquet hall with a luncheon, music and more skits and presentations from the kids. The new generation here is working hard to help preserve the culture and importance of these holidays for our children. You are right...it is not an easy thing to do!

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  10. Thank you Jenn! We did enjoy ourselves.
    It's fantastic that the churches & other organizations make the efforts to observe the holidays. I used to enjoy the banquets & luncheons, it helped with understanding and participation of these days. Keep going! :)
    Happy Halloween!

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