On Tuesday, 28 October 2025, Greece celebrated the 85th anniversary of what is known as Ohi Day, with nationwide ceremonies, military parades and solemn tributes to the generation of 1940.
At the heart of the celebrations in the capital of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, President of the Hellenic Parliament Konstantinos Tasoulas stated that the day is “the greatest lesson of the generation of ’40 to our modern era.” He stressed that the “homeland’s defence united the Greeks beyond imagination,” referencing the battles in Pindus, Kalpaki, Himara and Pogradec.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, addressing the parade in Thessaloniki, emphasized that Greeks today are “called to pass on the message of unity to the next generation,” and described Greece as “a country that honours past sacrifices,” with the Armed Forces always ready to defend freedom. He added in a prior statement that Ohi Day is “a day of memory, honour and pride,” and that Greece now “stands as a pillar of stability in a troubled neighbourhood,” with strong alliances, a robust economy and, above all, national unity.
In Thessaloniki the military parade along the seafront avenue of Megalou Alexandrou featured hundreds of troops, student units, new-generation equipment including drones, anti-drone systems, fast assault craft and robotic vehicles, and an aerial display of four Mirage jets from Tanagra. Everywhere onlookers cheered the display of national pride.
Across the country, schools held assemblies and flagged-raising ceremonies on the 28th, student and municipal parades formed part of the day’s events, and major thoroughfares in Athens and Piraeus were closed to manage the crowds and security. The tone of the celebrations was clear: while commemorating the defiant answer of 1940, Greece reaffirmed its commitment to unity, democracy and national independence.
