On March 25^th, we celebrate Greece’s Independence Day! We wish a great day of celebration to our wonderful Nobel team members from Greece!

Join us below in learning some fun and interesting trivia about this amazing country.

Did you know that?

• The National Day of Greece, or Greek Revolution Day and less commonly known as Greek Independence Day is a national holiday celebrated annually in Greece on the 25^th of March, commemorating the start of the War of Greek Independence against the Ottoman Empire in 1821.
• In celebration of Greek Independence Day, towns and villages throughout Greece hold a school flag parade, during which schoolchildren march in traditional Greek costume and carry Greek flags. There are also armed forces parades, the biggest one takes place in Athens.
• The Greek flag contains the two national colors, blue and white. Blue symbolizes the sky and seas and white denotes the purity of the Greek independence struggle. The cross represents the Christian religion. The nine stripes do not have any official meaning, but there are two theories as to their significance. The most popular theory says that they represent the syllables of the phrase Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος (“Freedom or Death”). Another theory says that the nine stripes represent the letters of the word “freedom” (ελευθερία).
• The country is formally called Hellàs in Greek, or more simply, Hellàda. It is believed that the name derives from the conjunction of the ancient root sel (light) and the word laas (stone). So Hellàs means a stone reflecting light.
• Athens, the capital of Greece, took its name from Athéna, the goddess of wisdom and military victory. According to Greek mythology, Athéna and Poseidon, the sea god, had a contest about who would name the city, and Athena won because she offered Athenians a great gift, the olive tree.
• With a history of more than 3,000 years, Athens is also the oldest inhabited city in Europe.
• Greece is one of the sunniest places in the world, with around 250-300 sunny days per year.
• With so much good weather, Greeks prefer to shop for fruit and vegetables at open farmers’ markets or laiki (as they are called in Greek) rather than in the supermarket.
• Greece is the third largest producer of olives in the world after Spain and Italy. Greece produces 2.2 million metric tons of olives each year and has more varieties of olives than any other country in the world!
• The Greek Isles are home to over 6,000 beautiful islands. While only 227 of them are inhabited, each island has a unique culture and landscape. Some of the most popular ones are Santorini, Mykonos, Corfu, Crete and Rhodes. Lesser known Greek islands, but equally spectacular, are Ithaca, Skiathos, Lefkada, Anafi, Sikinos, Folegandros, Alonissos, Karpathos, Nisyros, and many more.
• The island of Santorini has the only caldera (a large volcanic crater) in the world that is actually inhabited. Because the volcano is still active, The General Secretariat for Civil Protection has set up a special emergency plan in case of a volcanic eruption on the island.
• Greece has an impressive coastline of about 16,000 kilometers (9,942 miles).
• Even though Greece is mainly associated with islands and beaches, the majority of Greece is actually mountains. That’s right, 80% of Greece is made up of mountains!
• The tallest mountain in Greece is Mount Olympus, which is also the mythical home of the Greek gods.
• Greece is home to 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Temple of Apollo, the Acropolis of Athens, the Medieval City of Rhodes, Mount Athos and Meteora.
• Greece houses more archaeological museums than any other country in the world. One of the most well-known museums in the country is the Acropolis Museum located in Athens.
• Greece has a unique and diverse ecosystem. Over 100,000 birds migrate to Greece’s wetlands each winter and the country is home to some truly special species of animals, such as the Beech Marten, the Cypriot Mouflon, and the Mediterranean Monk Seal.
• There are more than 10,000 traditional Greek dances registered. Each island, city, town has its own regional dance with different steps.
• On Sunday, everything in Greece is closed, even gas stations, supermarkets and shops. This is supposed to be the day that Greeks worship God, by going to mass.
• Greeks believe in the evil eye, known as “mati” (eye) in Greek, which is bad luck thought to be transmitted by a malicious glare. Since ancient times, many people wear jewelry representing the evil eye around their neck, or their wrist, in order to cast off its influence. Moreover, the color blue that decorates the roofs of most houses serves the exact purpose of warding off the evil eye and evil in general.
• The Greek cuisine is known for its healthy and fresh ingredients, such as olive oil, fresh fish, and vegetables. Some traditional dishes include the Greek moussaka (an eggplant or potato-based dish, often including ground meat), Greek kleftiko (consisting of lamb marinated with lemon juice, potatoes and spices and cooked slowly in a sealed container), souvlaki (fast food consisting of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer), gyros (meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, then sliced and served wrapped or stuffed in pita bread, along with other ingredients such as tomato, onion, fried potatoes, and tzatziki), various pitas and fresh salads.
• Many mathematicians, physicists, philosophers, scientist and artists from Ancient Greece had an immeasurable impact on mankind, including Archimedes, Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Euclid, Pythagoras, Hippocrates, Sophocles, Homer, Herodotus, and more.