Saturday 25 March 2023

Hellenic Republic

25th March Greek Independence Day

  Greece celebrates the start of the war of Independence, from Turkey, back in 1821'

Since the catastrophic earthquake in Turkey. when Greek rescue teams were some of the first to offer assistance in searching for survivors, the two countries have become friendly neighbours instead of deadly enemies.  The Turkish Foreign Minister even sent a letter of congratulations to Greece (for throwing off the yoke of the Ottoman Empire?) emphasising 'good neighbourly ties'.

But Greece doesn't call itself 'Greece'.  The country is known to the Greeks as Ellada or Ellas or the Hellenic Republic.

'The name of Greece differs in Greek.  The ancient and modern name of the country is Ellas (or Hellas) or Ellada and it's official name is the Hellenic Republic.  However, the country is usually called Greece which comes from the Latin 'Graecia' as used by the Romans'

Paraphrased from Wikipedia


Is it Holland, Netherlands, Nederland or Le Pas Bas?

How about Britain, or is that the United Kingdom? Never mind that it's made up of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Why isn't Germany called Deutschland?

Will New Zealand ever change it's name to Aotearoa?

All very interesting if you have time to jump down the rabbit hole.


Did I mention that it's a church fiesta today too?

'The Feast of the Annunciation marks the visit of the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary during which he told her that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ, Son of God'








22 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your Independence Day.

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    1. Thanks Yael. I hope Greece stays peaceful

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  2. Happy celebration for the Greek people. I have studied Turkish, French and Spanish and note that each language has its own word to denote the name of other countries. It is kind of funny but it is what it is.

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    1. Each country must have a name in its own language but what it's generally called can be so totally different. It was interesting to read the origin of some of these names.

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  3. Well, whatever name it is called, it calls for a celebration in my opinion. Hope you enjoy yourselves!

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    1. It was a very quiet day for a change. We ate fried cod, garlic sauce and beetroot and drank a couple of glasses of wine. In the sun 😅

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    2. Ooooh we remember that specialty of the season - loved it. Hope you had a great celebration for Independence Day

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  4. The Roman's called Ireland Hibernia or the "land of eternal winter." They weren't wrong today it's throwing it down.

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    1. Hibernia sounds very romantic. I thought the Gulf Stream gave your part of the world the name of the Irish Riviera.

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  5. A rose by any other name ……
    It’s all Greek to me lol
    This means it’s now nine months till Christmas
    I hope you have a lovely day of feasting and family

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    1. Of course! 9 months till Xmas. Omg. You've got me thinking I should start knitting Xmas stuff 🤣🤣

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  6. Happy Independence Day. What´s in a name?

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  7. I wish I knew how to get rid of the white when that happens! Maybe someone can tell us.

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    1. It's so annoying to see and even more annoying to read! I could have tried rewriting on another post and leaving out the wiki bit but was just too tired.
      Maybe someone can help

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  8. Sometimes I find after you’ve pasted, if you tap on the screen (away from the words) with finger/cursor it makes it ‘come out right’

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  9. That works for some things but I think I tried it. And the whole post came out white not just that piece and what was below. Serves me right for being lazy and not just writing it in my own words

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  10. Go to edit and highlight the script that shows with white background (it wont actually show in edit but you will know which bit it is) then switch to HTML and press Ctrl F. Type in word "white" and it will highlight in the HTML script. Delete white, be brave, preview and if all well press update. Done. I wonder how long Turkey will remain friendly with Greece.

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    1. Thanks Rachel I'll give it a try.
      I'm counting till after the elections in Turkey . It's happened before. Brotherly love usually doesn't last long

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  11. I hope the friendship remains between Greece and Turkey. Interesting the names of places, I think NZ might have it's name changed before too much longer.

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  12. I just get confused with all the different names - I get used to one and it gets changed! Must be growing old LOL

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  13. yes, country names can be interesting to ponder. I think anyone could call New Zealand just that or Aotearoa, either or, doesn't bother me.

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