Monday, April 19, 2010

The Greek Parade in NYC 2010

Being fortunate enough to live in the New York tri state area allows us to commemorate a plethora of cultures through parades in Manhattan.  This allows those of us who may never travel to Italy, the Domenican Republic or Greece to get a lovely glimpse of some of the dances, hear music and see beautiful and unfamiliar costumes.  For me, living in New York, I am fortunate to have the opportunity to parade in the Greek Independence day parade with my three children.

This year we did not go on the float but rather they all marched in parts of the parade (Girl Scouts division, Greek School division).  For my children, it was an opportunity to feel and be filled with pride as so many Greeks, as well as non -Greeks spilled into the streets of NYC blanketing the streets between 69th and 83rd, with beautiful blue and white Greek flags and of course the American flag.  This for the children that are forced to attend Greek school each week is like the Olympic games for the athletes that have to get up at 5am for practice before school each day.  Finally, on this day, the children get a chance to wave the flag, dare I say enjoy the audience on the street sidelines and feel somewhat like a celebrity.  From what I can see with my own children, and what I remember growing up marching, this is a yearly highlight of the Greek school experience.  For even the children that may initially go kicking and screaming, or just "grumpy", by the end of the day, they too will be smiling.