Panormitis Festival 2003

On the feast day (November 8) crowds of pilgrims flock to the monastery on the southern point of the island. This is an occasion for family reunions, and countless Symiots who work in Rhodes and Athens arrive to visit their families. On the eve of the festival the bishop conducts vespers. On the following day of the feast, Mass is conducted by the bishop and the icon of Panormitis is carried in procession. Clerics and church-goers carry the icon through the large courtyard to the waterfront, through the grove and to the graveyard where the monastery’s abbots are buried.

On this day in 1940 Mussolini gave Greece an ultimatum : surrender or be invaded. General Ioannis Metaxas said "Ochi." ("no" in Greek.) Since the end of World War II this has been the national day of Greece; parades, music and dancing celebrate Greek independence.