December 27, 2019 UPDATE
More than 400,000 Romanians celebrated their name day on Friday.
Newsroom, 27.12.2019, 20:00
New Year. Popular music bands from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s will take the stage on Tuesday at the New Year’s Eve party in central Bucharest. As many as 11 bands and artists from Romania, Moldova, Germany and the US will hold live concerts at the event dubbed Disco Night Fever. O-Zone, Milli Vanilli, Haddaway and Turbo B are among them. The New Year’s party will end at midnight with fireworks.
Decoration. Romanias president Klaus Iohannis on Friday signed a decree to award the journalist Mihai Creanga the National Order for Merit in rank of Knight, posthumously. The decoration is meant to recognise Creangas contribution to defending the freedom of the press and promoting the principles of democracy and the dedication with which he opposed the communist regime. Mihai Creanga died on Wednesday at the age of 77. He was part of a group of four journalists working for the daily Romania Libera, who, almost a year before the fall of the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, tried to publish an anti-communist newspaper. The regime found out about their plans and the four were arrested and tortured before being released on the 22nd of December 1989 after the victory of the anticommunist revolution.
Holiday. Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Christians in Romania on Friday celebrated the Feast of St Stephen, known as the first Christian martyr. He was one of the seven deacons of the first community in Jerusalem, a position in the ecclesiastical hierarchy which at the time also involved assisting the poor. Stephen is described in the New Testament as being able to work wonders and was said to convert many to the Christian faith, a success which was not to the liking of the Jewish leaders. Stephen was thus arrested, tried and found guilty of blasphemy and sentenced to death by stoning. He died in 35 AD. More than 400,000 Romanians are named after this saint and celebrated their name day on Friday.
Tourism. More than 2 million foreign nationals visited Romania in the first nine months of the year, spending some 1.15 billion euros here, according to the National Institute for Statistics. Almost half of these foreign visitors travelled to Romania for work to attend congresses, conferences, courses, fairs and exhibitions. Half of the money spent in Romania covered the accommodation costs, with another almost 18% being spent in restaurants and bars and a little over 30% on gifts and souvenirs. 80% of foreign visitors to Romania arrived here by plane, 11% by car and 7% by bus.
Accidents. The Romanian interior ministry calls on motorists to drive carefully, respect traffic rules and not to use their mobile phones while driving. This warning comes after 27 people have been killed and several dozens injured in the last few days in a number of serious accidents. The police also warns that the roads are wet and there is a risk of ice forming, especially in the mountainous regions. As for the weather in Romania, a cold snap is expected beginning on Saturday across the country. Snow is also expected. The noon reading today in Bucharest was 6 degrees Celsius.
Handball. The Romanian mens handball side are facing The Netherlands on Saturday in the semifinals of the Carpati Trophy. In the other semifinal, North Macedonia face Algeria. The competitions final will take place on Sunday. The matches are part of the training campaign for the first qualifying stage ahead of the 2021 World Championship hosted by Egypt. Next month, Romania will face Italy, Georgia and Kosovo in a preliminary tournament hosted by Italy. The manager of the Romanian side Rares Fortuneanu, who also manages the French First League side Saint Raphael, says he is confident Romania can qualify for the 2021 final tournament, which will bring together 32 sides for the first time. In womens handball, Romania reached as far as the Main Round of the World Championship hosted by Japan this month.
(Translated by Elena Enaache)
