Annunciation of the Theotokos Description
A dual celebration combining one of the twelve Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church (the announcement by Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary) with Greek Independence Day, marking the start of the 1821 revolution against Ottoman rule. Military and student parades march through town squares across Greece, with the largest in Athens' Syntagma Square. Churches named Evangelismos hold panigiria (feast-day festivals). Government offices, banks, and most businesses close. The day unites religious devotion with patriotic pride, and the traditional meal is bakaliaros skordalia (fried cod with garlic dip).
