Oxi Day nail art

Halloween is right around the corner, but today is a very special day, too!  Today is known as Όχι Day, or Oxi Day in English - also spelled Ohi Day, pronounced "OH-hee."  It's Greek for "No."

Because this is a Greek holiday, I thought I would celebrate with some Greek key nail art - and take this opportunity to teach you guys about Oxi Day!

These Greek key stencils were way hard to use, and the design came out a bit sloppy looking on my nails!  Oh well.  I love Greek keys - which, in the spirit of this educational post, are known as "Meandros" in Greek ("Μαίανδρος") and have been a common motif on buildings and pottery since ancient times, most likely symbolizing infinity and unity.  (side note: if I ever gather the guts to get a tattoo, it will absolutely be a Greek key around my ankle.)

On October 28, 1940, Italian ambassador to Greece Emanuele Grazzi met with Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas.  Grazzi demanded that Metaxas allow Axis powers to occupy Greece, or face war.  Metaxas' response was, for reasons unknown to me, in French: "Alors, c'est la guerre!" which means "Then it is war!"  Italian troops that had been stationed in Albania quickly attacked the Greek border, plunging Greece into World War II.  Greek citizens gathered in the streets, shouting "Oxi," unified against the Axis powers.  

October 28 became a national holiday in Greece in 1942.  It is celebrated with parades, military grandstanding, and lots of patriotic flag-waving.

An Oxi Day parade in Canada - it's celebrated in Greek communities

worldwide!  image source

Here in the states, I'm celebrating a bit more subtly with some Greek nail art!

The Greek flag is blue and white, so I used Zoya Tallulah on top of Sally Hansen White On.  I can't remember where I got the vinyl stencils - I bought too many vinyls from too many different companies too close together, so I honestly have no idea where any of them came from!

You can learn more about Oxi Day on Wikipedia and Living in Greece.

I hope I've managed to teach you something new today!  If not, tell me when you first learned about Oxi Day in the comments!  Do any of you celebrate Oxi Day by going to a parade or a festival, or maybe just by eating Greek food every October 28?  Let me know in the comments!

And Happy Almost-Halloween!

Update: a commenter (My Mom :) ) shared this 4 and a half minute video in the comments, and it's a great watch!