As most readers will know, 28th October is Oxi Day in Greece, the anniversary of the rejection by the Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas of an ultimatum from the Italian leader Benito Mussolini. According to Wikipedia, the ultimatum was presented to Metaxas by the Italian ambassador to Greece Emanuele Grazzi, who had just come from a party in the Italian embassy in Athens, shortly after 3.00 am on 28 October 1940. It demanded that Greece allow Axis forces to enter Greek territory and occupy certain unspecified “strategic locations” or otherwise face war. Although Metaxas was afterwards alleged to have replied with the single word “Oxi” – “No”, what he in fact said was “Alors, c’est la guerre!”
In response, Italian troops stationed in Albania attacked the Greek border at 5.30 am on the same day – the beginning of Greece’s participation in World War II. Later in the morning, the Greek population took to the streets, irrespective of political affiliation, shouting “Oxi”. From 1942 onwards the date was celebrated annually as Oxi Day, initially by members of the resistance and after the war by all Greeks.
The annual event is the occasion for displays of patriotic fervour throughout the nation, with church services, laying of wreaths, and parades by schoolchildren and students, local cultural associations and members of the armed forces. It is also marked by free admission to archaeological sites and museums. In Chania it was attended by the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, as well as other Cretan and local dignitaries including the Regional Governor of Crete Stavros Arnautakis and the Deputy Regional Governor for Chania Nikos Kalogeris.
Ceremony at the war memorial
As a preamble, on 27th October a ceremony of remembrance was held at the city’s war memorial in the Park of Peace and Friendship, which is next to the Kypos in Chania. Following a memorial service led by Archmandrite Nikiforos Eikosideka of the Metropolis of Kydonia and Apokoronas, wreaths were laid by representatives of the city’s school and student population, scouts and guides, local government and other local institutions. Students of the Music School sang the national anthem and the anthem of Crete.
In a statement to the media, the newly reelected mayor of Chania Panagiotis Simandirakis said: “The 28th October is an anniversary of the national rebirth, an anniversary which we are honouring again this year, here at the city’s War Memorial, in the presence of our young people, who have the responsibility of fostering not only this memory but the spirit of collective struggle against every form of suppression… and with the aim of having a cultured community, a community which will tolerate difference but chiefly a community which will resist every adversity wherever it occurs in the world, so as to be able to stand on its own feet and to look with pride and optimism to the future.”
The programme
The programme for the 28th October celebrations in Chania was as follows:
08:30 – Ceremonial raising of the National Flag at the Firka Fortress by a tripartite squad of personnel from the Army, Navy and Air Force.
10.45 – Memorial Service at Chania’s Cathedral Church of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, led by Damaskinos, Metropolitan of Kydonia and Apokoronas.
11:40 – Memorial Service at the War Memorial. Laying of wreaths. Observance of one minute’s silence in memory of those who fell in defence of the homeland. Playing of the National Anthem.
12:00 – Parade of primary and secondary school pupils, local bodies and organisations, cultural associations in local dress, schools of higher and further education, Guides, Scouts and the Armed Forces, in the presence of the Prime Minister.
17:30 – Ceremonial lowering of the flag at the Firka Fortress.
Messages of patriotism and the need for historical awareness
In a statement, the Regional Governor of Crete Stavros Arnautakis emphasised the need for unity amongst Greeks and the value of historical awareness for the future. “The timeless symbolism of the ‘Oxi’ is sacrifice, both personal and collective, which has as its aim the good of the Homeland.”
The mayor of Kissamos, Giorgos Mylonakis said: “In difficult moments our country comes together and says a resounding ‘No’ and struggles to the end for high ideals. For Freedom, for the Homeland, for Democracy. We have a duty to honour the sacrifices of the heroes of 1940 and we promise them that if Fate at some point confronts us with a new 1940, we will answer again with a ‘No’ as our pride, our courage and our history demands of us.”
Speaking to journalists after the service at Chania Cathedral, the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described Greece as a “pillar of stability” in the region. Eighty-three years after the epic statement of Metaxas, he said “Our country stands as a pillar of stability in a troubled neighbourhood. Our powerful armed forces guarantee our deterrent capacity. But of course the deterrent force of the armed forces is subject to some clear conditions: a strong economy, strong and stable alliances and chiefly the unity of the Greek people. This unity, which was demonstrated with such selflessness 83 years ago, must always be a guide for the future, for the way in which our country will confront every difficulty and will emerge stronger from every crisis.”
He described the present anniversary as “a day of remembrance, honour and pride”: “Our thoughts go back 83 years to those who said the great ‘Oxi’, to the young men who fought in the mountains of Pindos and Albania. We honour above all those who never returned to their families, to a warm house, or even to a dignified funeral.”
Chania MP Dora Bakogiannis said: “The whole of Greece, all Greek men and women are celebrating. We are celebrating the courage, the decisiveness, the big-heartedness of the young men who went to fight and defeated tremendous armies, far greater than ours. It is an example worth imitating, we are proud of those men and we will always remember and always honour their struggle.”
(Haniotika Nea, 28, 30/10/23)