Messages on Romania’s National Day
Romania’s National Day was marked through parades, military and religious ceremonies, and also through a series of cultural events
Corina Cristea, 02.12.2025, 14:00
Celebrated annually since 1990 as Romania’s National Day, December 1 is a day of gratitude, solidarity and recollecting the struggle for unity and national identity.
This year the Romanians celebrated 107 years since Transylvania, Banat, Crisana and Maramures united with Romania. The Great National Assembly in Alba Iulia, central Romania on December 1, 1918 proved to be a watershed moment for the ‘national unity of all Romanians’.
Parades as well as military and religious ceremonies and services were held all over the country; the biggest of them was seen in the capital Bucharest, which involved the participation of roughly three thousand Romanian and foreign servicemen from NATO structures accompanied by the latest military equipment and gear.
A spectacular military parade was also staged in Alba Iulia, which involved the participation of over 1,000 servicemen, including Polish troops from the allied structures, who displayed ground military equipment, while in Constanta, on the Romanian Black Sea coast, a parade of military vessels took pride of place. Visitors could also admire a display of Romania’s ground and air forces, which was joined by some of the foreign troops stationed at “Mihail Kogălniceanu” military base. In Timisoara, western Romania, thousands witnessed a major military parade and participated in a candle march.
“Today we are celebrating the Union of 1918, a historic moment for Romania, a moment in which a generational dream came true. And that means on one hand that we weren’t coming from nowhere, that a society and a political class capable of channeling the energies towards an ideal did exist. And that means the memory of these people obliges us to try to keep their standards and be at their level,” the Romanian president Nicusor Dan said in his message on that day. The head of the Romanian state made an appeal for calm and balance in tackling society issues.
Nicusor Dan: “I am making an invitation to all to lower our voices and talk calmly and in a balanced manner the issue our society is currently facing – without trying to conceal them, but by keeping our calm and balance. I also invite you to try to listen to each other. Beyond the inevitable noise, we are going to find common ground to build upon.“
World leaders conveyed their messages on Romania’s National Day. The US President Donald Trump has underlined the tight bilateral relations and Romania’s strategic role in the Black Sea region, and appreciated Romania’s contribution to regional security and within NATO. French President Emmanuel Macron has also conveyed a message mentioning security as the pivotal point of the bilateral relationship. The President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, has recollected the importance of the historic moment December 1, 1918. The Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky has appreciated Romania’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the context of the war started by the Russian Federation.
(bill)
