Why are we Greeks the only nation that celebrates the "NO", that is, the beginning of a war and not its end, as all other nations do?
The 31-year-old historian Valentin Snyder, who is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Political Science and Public Administration of the University of Athens, offers a scientific explanation.
He notes, for example, that in European countries national holidays are about the independence of a state, its liberation, or its foundation.
Greece celebrates the nation's declaration of independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821 on March 25, but unlike the rest of Europe, declared October 28 a national holiday about World War II, a day on which in 1940 the prime minister Ioannis Metaxas refused to accept the yoke of occupation by Italy, with the result that Italy declared war on Greece.
In general, national holidays related to World War II have been introduced in some European countries. Italy celebrates the end of fascism and German occupation on April 25, while the Netherlands celebrates the end of German occupation on May 5. France celebrates victory over Germany on May 8. In fact, in 1959, Charles de Gaulle, aiming to improve France-Germany relations, stopped the celebration of May 8, which was reinstated by Mitterrand in 1982. On the contrary, France honors the landing of Allied troops in Normandy on June 6.
Snyder attributes the decision to celebrate October 28 to Greece's desire to maintain its neutrality after the disaster at Asia Minor. Metaxas' "No" was a rejection of Great Power interference in Greek affairs.
