December 24, 2023 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Leyla Cheamil, 24.12.2023, 18:06
CHRISTMAS – Orthodox Christians, Greek-Catholics and Catholics from around the world, including from Orthodox-majority Romania, celebrated Christmas Eve. A widespread custom in Romania on Christmas Eve is the colindat, a ritual made up of ceremonial texts, dances and gestures. The performers symbolise the angels and the shepherds, who were the first to receive the news of Christs birth. They wish their hosts well and in exchange receive food or money. Pantocrator Monastery in Teleorman county, in the south, is the site of a pilgrimage this year, as it hosts some of the gifts taken by the magi to the newborn in Bethlehem and brought over from Mount Athos. They will be on display until 28th December.
MESSAGE – The Romanian Minister of Defense, Angel Tîlvăr, in a message on the occasion of the winter holidays, thanked the military on foreign missions and their families “for understanding and support”. He said that a special place in his heart “have the war veterans, the veterans from theaters of operations and the military personnel in reserve and retirement whose sacrifices and love of country motivates us all”. He also extended his special thanks “to the military and civilians who carry out their activities in the country and without whom the Romanian Army would not be what it is today”. Angel Tîlvăr also mentioned the security situation in the Black Sea area, saying that Romania, as a member of the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union, has unprecedented security guarantees. He recalled that over 5,000 allied soldiers are currently deployed on the national territory and are training alongside the Romanian soldiers.
GAS – Romania has enough gas in its warehouses for this winter, more than at any other time, the energy minister Sebastian Burduja told a TV interview. He said warehouses are 90% full and that if this is a normal winter with at most two spells of cold and blizzards of no more than 7 days a month, then the Romanian gas will be enough to last the winter. Burduja said the gas extracted from the Black Sea will be used from 2027 and that Romania should continue to be energy independent, at least when it comes to gas.
MOLDOVA – The President of the Republic of Moldova, the pro-Western Maia Sandu, asked Parliament to organize a referendum next autumn so that the citizens can have their say on the country’s European future. On the completion of three years since taking over the position of head of state, Maia Sandu said that she needs the support of the citizens to continue this project and announced that in 2024 she will run for a new mandate, Radio Chisinau reports. The European Commission decided, this month, to start accession negotiations with the Republic of Moldova, as well as with the neighboring Ukraine, invaded by the Russian army.
QUAKE – An earthquake measuring 4.2 degrees on the Richter scale was recorded Saturday morning in Vrancea county, in the east. According to the National Institute for Earth Physics, the quake occurred at 8:06 am, at a depth of 97 km. From the beginning of the month, 16 earthquake have taken place in Romania, the strongest of which was 4.8 magnitude. The strongest quake this year, 5.7, occurred in February in Gorj county, at a depth of 6.3 km. (EE)
