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Event
Information:
Ohi Day (also spelled Ochi Day,
Anniversary of the "No") is
celebrated throughout Greece, Cyprus
and the Greek communities around the
world on October 28 each year, to
commemorate Greek Prime Minister
Ioannis Metaxas' (in power from
August 4, 1936, until January 29,
1941) rejection of the ultimatum
made by Italian dictator Benito
Mussolini on October 28, 1940.
This
ultimatum, which was presented to
Metaxas by the Italian ambassador in
Greece, Emanuele Grazzi, on October
28, 1940, at dawn (04:00 am), after
a party in the German embassy in
Athens, demanded that Greece allow
Axis forces to enter Greek territory
and occupy certain unspecified
"strategic locations" or otherwise
face war. It was allegedly answered
with a single laconic word: όχι or
no. In response to Metaxas's
refusal, Italian troops stationed in
Albania, then an Italian
protectorate, attacked the Greek
border at 05:30 am. Metaxas's reply
marked the beginning of Greece's
participation in World War II (see
Greco-Italian War and Battle of
Greece).
On the
morning of October 28 the Greek
population took to the streets,
irrespective of political
affiliation, shouting 'ohi'. From
1942, it was celebrated as Ohi Day.
During the war, October 28 was
commemorated yearly by Greek
communities around the world and in
Greece and Cyprus, and after World
War II it became a public holiday in
Greece and Cyprus. The events of
1940 are commemorated every year
with military and student parades.
On every anniversary, most public
buildings and residences are
decorated with Greek flags.
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