<\/p>\n
The day of May 10th was marked
\nand celebrated as the national day of Romania until 1948. It was a symbol of
\nRomania’s independence and unity. Also, the day was inseparably connected to the
\nmonarchy, providing a fine opportunity for public celebration.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The story of the day of May 10th began in 1866, when Carol of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
\narrived on the territory of the then Romanian Principalities of Wallachia and
\nMoldavia. Shortly after his arrival, Carol became the new ruling prince of the Romanian
\nprincipalities, in the wake of the coup that forced ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza
\nto abdicate. All that happened at a time when the diplomatic context was a very
\nsensitive one; we recall that, at European level, the union of the Romanian
\nPrincipalities had been recognised only during Alexandru Ioan Cuza’s reign. The
\nOttoman Empire was, at that time, the suzerain power of the Romanian
\nPrincipalities. Consequently, in February 1866, the Ottoman Empire called for a
\ndecision to be taken by the European powers to rescind the union. What happened
\nafterwards? <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Historian Alin Ciupala:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At that time,
\nthe ruling political class had to be quick in finding a solution to overcome
\nthe crisis. So Ion Bratianu and other high-ranking politicians who belonged to
\nthe generation of the 1848 revolution traveled to Paris, since such a solution
\ncould only be provided by Europe’s strongest man at that time, the Emperor of
\nFrance. So Napoleon the 3rd suggested this solution, which turned out to be a
\nvery good one, longer term. Strictly speaking, the significance of the day of
\nMay the 10th, 1866, was not marked in a festive manner. Apart from the ceremony
\nstaged on that occasion, so serious was the political crisis, that all energies
\nwere directed towards it. Carol I did arrive in the country, but that was not
\nenough. He had to enjoy recognition by the suzerain power, since at that time
\nthe Romanian Principalities had still been under Ottoman suzerainty. So people
\ndid not make much of the day of May 10th, in terms of public celebration.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Events took a totally different
\nturn 15 years later, when Romania, having gained its independence in the wake
\nof the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, was officially proclaimed a kingdom.
\nCarol I was crowned as its king on May 10th, 1881. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Alin Ciupala:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
From that moment
\nonward, the day of May 10th would gain
\na totally different scope. A set formula would even be devised, to mark the
\nmoment. The day of May 10th proper was
\nteeming with all sorts of celebratory events. It began with the mass held at
\nthe Patriarchal Cathedral, with members of the Royal House and members of the
\ngovernment attending, joined by representatives of foreign diplomatic missions
\nto Bucharest. The momentum of the day was provided by a public pageantry, the
\nmost important manifestation of the shared joy as the Royal family and
\nRomania’s citizens stood together for the military parade, led by King Carol I.
\nAs soon as the military parade was over, a festivity followed, held at the
\nPromenade, which can quite aptly be described as a popular one. The day closed
\nwith a ball offered by the Royal family at the Palace, where the rank and
\nfashion and members of the government were invited, as well as members of the Parliament
\nor members of the foreign diplomatic missions to Bucharest. So given what it’s
\ntaken, it was an eventful, very well-organised day.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The ritual instated by Carol I to
\nmark the importance of May 10th was continued by his successor, King Ferdinand, all the more so as the day became
\neven more important, after World War One and the Great Union of 1918. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Alin Ciupala:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It stood for the
\nmoment of reunification, for all Romanians. In Bucharest, after 1918, the
\nterritories would be officially represented, that were united with the Old
\nKingdom of Romania after World War One. Furthermore, Queen Mary, in the
\ninter-war years and up until the 1930s, played a crucial role in staging
\nfestivities on May 10th. As for her public presence, which was highly popular
\namong Romanians, it emphasised the fact that it was an out-and-out public
\nfestivity. But the one who turned the event of May 10 into an opportunity to
\nspeak more about his personality, rather transforming into into an opportunity
\nto aggrandise the sovereign, it was King Carol II. During his reign, he
\nwas very keen on shaping up a certain form of personality cult. As for the day of
\nMay 10th, it provided a fine opportunity to achieve that, an opportunity he did
\nnot miss. Proof of that is aplenty, including cinema productions. Newsreels of
\nthat time have been preserved to this day, capturing the May 10th festivities
\nin the time of King Carol II. Actually, it is well worth mentioning that the
\nfirst cinema newsreel that was edited marked the May 10th festivities of 1914.
\nUnfortunately, it was not kept in mint condition.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Romania’s entering World War Two did
\nnot favour the May 10th festive celebrations any longer, and that’s for sure.
\nIn 1947, King Michael was forced to abdicate. Communism was fully instated in
\nthe country, and another day was picked for the national celebration. Moreover,
\nthe communists were very particular about deleting mentions of May the 10th
\nfrom the mainstream historical sources of information. The day was inseparably
\nlinked to monarchy…So blatant was the communists’ historical counterfeit that
\neven the day when the independence of Romania was proclaimed, on May 10th,
\n1877, was celebrated on May 9th, during the communist regime.<\/p>\n
(Translation by Eugen Nasta).<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The kings of Romania and the personality cult<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":169625,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45210],"tags":[42609,32644,45588],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-169624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rri-encyclopaedia","tag-carol-i","tag-independence","tag-napoleon-the-3rd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n