The Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias attended the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony for the families and children of military and civilian personnel serving in the Ministry of National Defence, the Hellenic National Defence General Staff and other General Staffs on Tuesday 9 December 2025 at “PAPAGOS” Camp.

The ceremony was also attended by the Deputy Minister of National Defence Thanasis Davakis, the Chief HNDGS General Dimitrios Choupis, the Chief HAGS Lieutenant General Georgios Kostidis, the Chief HNGS Vice Admiral Dimitrios – Eleftherios Kataras and the Chief HAFGS Lieutenant General Dimosthenis Grigoriadis, and other senior and higher-ranking officers.

In his address, Mr. Dendias emphasized the following:

“It is a great honour for me to be here with you once again to continue the Ministry’s “tradition”. But I want to be honest with you. I am very happy to see the Ministry as I see it tonight, with its new form and the Monument in front of us.

Because it is an environment that truly reflects the passage of our Country’s Armed Forces into this new, difficult era. And in this different, much more modern and beautiful space, we will light up this year’s Christmas tree, a deeply Christian symbol. The tree is the tree of life, it is the tree of Light, and it is the tree of Love among people. And the tree and lights are not a manifestation of consumerism. We do not decorate it to go shopping. It represents a whole symbolism, as I told you. It represents and symbolizes the emergence of new life towards the sky, upward. It signifies rejection of darkness, which is why we light it up.

And I think that in these difficult times of global uncertainty, it is something that makes us feel optimistic. And it reminds us that it is very good to stay close to our symbols, close to our core values, to what we believe in. At the end of the day, to who we are. Because who we are shapes our consciousness, determines our perceptions, and influences and dictates our choices.

And I hope that you will pass on these values, these ideas, to the new generation of Hellenes, to the children who are among us today and who are the future for all of us.

I must also say that it is a great pleasure for me that, within this festive environment, there is also the Ark of National Memory; a symbol of permanence, that together with us in our joys and sorrows, in our celebrations, we are accompanied by the memory of those who have lost their lives, whose names are always with us, reminding us of what they offered to the Country and reminding us to what we owe to the Country.

A monument that serves as a memorial, but is not a burial monument. It is a monument to coexistence, together with the memory of those who lost their lives and are no longer with us. And starting in the new year, this very monument – as I have said – will be opened to the public, so that our fellow citizens would visit it and become part of this collective memory.

I would like to wish the personnel of the Armed Forces, but especially their families, health and happiness from the bottom of my heart. Because I know very well that military families are the ones who support this great mission and are the ones who raise the children who play among us today, the hope for a better tomorrow.

I would also like to express my regret about something, but I want to tell you about it. The fact that the Greek Parliament with its current agenda, did not allow us to vote before Christmas, as I would have liked, on the bill containing the salary increases for which we have all been fighting for so long.

However, I can assure you that they will be voted on January 8, and I have already asked the Ministry’s financial services to send each and every one of you a document containing your salary for January of the new year, as well as the amount of retroactive pay to which you are entitled, because I remind you that the increases are retroactive from October 1, 2025.

I am sorry that this amount of money will not be available for the Christmas table, but it will be a very good start to the new year.

And as I have told you, the effort this year will be to implement a new round of savings so that, with the agreement we have made with the Ministry of Finance, we can return at the end of the year – if we all make it together – to a new cycle of upward adjustments to the payroll.

Once again, from the bottom of my heart and with gratitude for everything that each and every one of you offers, and with my encouragement to all of us to rejoice in our children, who are the future, I wish you a Merry Christmas, a happy New Year, and all the best for you, your families, and our Country.

Best wishes! God bless you!”