March 25 each year is Greek Independence Day, a national holiday celebrated annually to commemorate the start of the War of Greek Independence in 1821. In 2025, the 25th falls on a Tuesday.

In celebration of Greek Independence Day, towns and villages throughout Greece hold a school flag parade, during which schoolchildren march, some in traditional Greek costume, joined in major towns and cities by members of the military services.

War of Greek Independence

Greece became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1453 and continued to be part for nearly four hundred years. However, on March 25, 1821, the Greek revolt was instigated by Bishop Germanos of Patras, when he raised the flag of revolution over the Monastery of Agia Lavra in the Peloponnese. “Freedom or death” became the rallying cry of the revolution.

The Greeks experienced early successes on the battlefield, including the capture of Athens in June 1822, but infighting ensued. By 1827 Athens and most of the Greek isles had been recaptured by the Turks.

Just as the revolution appeared to be on the verge of failure, Great Britain, France, and Russia intervened in the conflict. The Greek struggle had elicited strong sympathy in Europe, and many leading intellectuals had promoted the Greek cause, including the English poet Lord Byron. At the naval Battle of Navarino, the combined British, French, and Russian forces destroyed an Ottoman-Egyptian fleet. The revolution ended in 1829 when the Treaty of Edirne established an independent Greek state.

The 25th is a national holiday with the vast majority of businesses closed for the day, excluding of course, bars and restaurants!