NORTH WILDWOOD, NJ – Celebrating on the Saturday before March 25^th, Greeks assembled at the North Wildwood Recreation Center on a sun-filled day – one of the precious few in the Northeast this young spring – to celebrate Greek Independence Day, the Cape May County Herald reported.

The ceremony continued  to Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, and concluded at the County Complex in Court House, the Herald reported, and members of the St. Demetrios Church parish shared their thoughts, including Rev. Steven J. Vlahos, Mark Karavan, and Lestor Kantsanis. “We thank the Lord for a wonderful day and for 194 years of freedom,” Vlahos told the Herald. “This is a double holiday: the annunciation of the birth of Christ and freedom of the Kantsanis referred to Greece as being the “mother of republics,” and emphasized the historical link between Greece and the United States, including an affinity for Hellenism by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Daniel Webster.