One of the greatest traditions of student life in Greece is the celebration of Greek national anniversaries. Preparing for the “γιορτή” involves rehearsing your poems, trying to memorize lines in order to read the stories behind the historical events passionately and keep your classmates engaged.
To be honest, this is a part of student life that students remember fondly and with nostalgia after they finish school, but felt slightly weary of when they actually had to do it. This might have to do with the fact that these celebrations, οι γιορτές, are wonderful but have been conducted in the same way for decades.
That’s not the case with our Greek School’s celebrations!
I guess you could say that they are the new generation of Greek school celebrations. This is all thanks to a new generation of Greek students! Our students! Students of the Greek diaspora, little Greeks from every corner of the world, who have brought a new generation of Greek celebrations that bring tradition together with technology, that unite the old with the new, that bridge the gap between themselves and their Greek grandparents.
So, last Sunday this new generation of Greek students gathered together in three separate OXI Day online events that the Greek Online School hosted. Why did we need 3 events to celebrate OXI Day? Well, because our family has grown so much that our little Greeks do not fit in one event anymore!
All three “γιορτές” were wonderful.
Students got together from various corners of the world, they got to network with children their age that they had never met before, they got to see their teachers, and they gave their parents the opportunity to be included in their children’s Greek school tradition and celebrate the heroic events of 1940.
They read their poems and the events from Greek history, they played and had fun with their favorite learning applications but most importantly they all celebrated the importance of peace and friendship together!
Just like every year we want to thank all our students and their parents for participating in our Greek online celebration with such warmth and eagerness. We hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did! Ζήτω η Ελλάδα! Ζήτω η Ειρήνη!
