PENRITH RSL PIPES AND DRUMS ATTEND THE 2024 GREEK DAY
PENRITH RSL PIPES AND DRUMS ATTEND THE 2024 GREEK DAY
On Sunday 25th March, the Penrith RSL Pipes and Drums attended the Greek Day Festival in the Sydney CBD. Most people would automatically ask, why pipe bands at a Greek Festival? Well bagpipes originated in Ancient Egypt. From as early as 400BC the pipers of Thebes are reported to have been blowing pipes made from dog skin and chanters of bone.
Later pipes made their way to Greece and beyond. One of the most famous exponents of the pipes is said to have been the great Roman Emperor Nero, who may well have been piping rather than fiddling whilst Rome burnt. Historians believe that bagpipes made their way to Scotland by invading Roman Armies.
HISTORY OF GREEK DAY
Each year, Greeks all over the world celebrate Greek Independence Day on March 25, which is a national holiday in Greece. On this day, Greeks all over the world remember their long struggle against the Ottoman Empire (Turks). Although each part of Greece experiencing occupation at varying times, the Turks were in Greece for roughly 400 years.
The Ottoman Empire ruled for around four hundred years, and this wasn't easy for the Greeks. The two cultures were vastly different, and the Greek people looked at this as a period of oppression. Those who were unable to flee Greece and establish new lives in Western Europe suffered. Turkish reign was oppressive for many reasons.
One problem was that they had an apparent disregard for Greece's glorious past. At one point, they used the Parthenon to store munitions and didn't treat it as the beautiful, historical landmark it really was. Another problem was that Orthodox Christians weren't able to express their faith in public. Since most of Greece is Orthodox, this caused a feeling of unease amongst the Greek people.
Those are just two examples of problems that arose between the Turks and the Greeks. Generally, because the Greeks felt oppressed, this caused unrest throughout occupied Greece. There were several resistance movements that formed through the duration of Turkish rule. However, it wasn't until March 25, 1821 that these movements posed any real threat to the Ottoman Empire.
March 25th is a significant day because it marked the official beginning of the Greek War for Independence, as declared by the rebels and freedom fighters. In 1814, the secret society, the Filiki Eteria was formed with the goal of liberating Greece from Ottoman control. This group had planned the insurrection to take place on March 25th but in some parts of Greece, the fighting occurred sooner.
The end result of this war is that the Greeks did successfully gain their independence.