On Sunday 12th March 2023 Ermioni celebrated their first new local holiday.  This new local holiday celebrates the Hellenic 3rd National Assembly that was held in Ermioni/Kastri* between January and March 1827.  The annual anniversary had been established by Presidential Decree No.20 (Government Gazette 54/A on 14th March 2022) as a public holiday of local importance.  Ermioni had the first opportunity to celebrate this historic local holiday, selected to be the second Sunday of March.  The 3rd National Assembly in Ermioni is an important historic event, which sent a strong message of unity and reconciliation to the Hellenic people for the continuation of the liberation struggle, during the Greek War of Independence, laying the foundation for a united joint Assembly to meet in Trizina/Damalas. 

The new holiday celebrations began the day before with a lecture given by Thanasis Christou, Professor of Modern History at the University of Peloponnese, at the History and Folklore Museum of Ermioni (ILME).  On Sunday morning, a Doxology church service was held at the Byzantine Church of Taxiarches (Archangels) in the presence of the Mayor of Ermionida, members of Parliament, representatives of local government and security forces, and a delegation of teachers and students from Ermioni schools.  A eulogy of the day was delivered by Eleni Vlasi-Demaraki, Ermionitissa of Education and a member of the Board of Directors of ILME.

A Memorial Service was then held opposite the Mitsas memorial garden, with the laying of wreaths and poems from the second Ermionis Kindergarten, accompanied by the playing of the Hellenic National Anthem by the Municipality of Ermionida orchestra.

This event was followed by a tour for the dignitaries by the President of ILME, Tina Antonopoulou, of the historic house where the proxies of the 3rd National Assembly of 1827 in Ermioni took place.  The holiday celebrations were concluded by the colourful Ermionida Dance Group, led by Kostas Skourtis, with traditional folk dances within the courtyard of the History & Folklore Museum.

It was with pride and passion that modern Ermioni recalled the important historical event that happened in Ermioni/Kastri* in 1827, which contributed to the formation of an independant Greece, which evolved into the modern and democratic Hellenic Republic.

*Ermioni/Kastri - During the Norman and Frankish occupation of the Peloponnese (Medieval Morea) following the Crusades in the 12th and early 13th centuries, Ermioni was encircled by stone walls that were erected on the remains of ancient structures, acquiring the name Kastri (Castle) which remained the name of the town until the end of the Greek Revolution in the 19th century.