December 1: National Day of Romania

National Day of Romania or Great Union Day is celebrated on December 1

România Internațional, 01.12.2020, 12:26

The National Day of Romania marks the moment when Greater Romania was founded. It celebrates the completion of the process of creating the Romanian unitary nation state, at the end of WWI, in 1918, when all the territories with a majority Romanian-speaking population from the neighboring multinational empires united under the authority of Bucharest. In 1918, the Great National Assembly of the Romanians in Transylvania, Banat, Crișana and Maramureș, gathered in the town of Alba Iulia (center) and decreed the union of all these territories inhabited by Romanians with Romania, thus laying the foundation for a nation state.

This
year, the traditional ceremony organized in the Arch of Triumph Square in
downtown Bucharest was not open to the public, because of restrictions
imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, attended low-key ceremonies, alongside doctors, medical staff, foreign ambassadors, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, members of the Government, the interim Senate Speaker Robert Cazanciuc and some 150 soldiers from the Ministry of National Defense.

The head of state paid a floral tribute and kept a moment’s silence in memory of Romania’s heroes who died in the line of duty and of SARS-CoV-2 victims. Klaus Iohannis also made an appeal for solidarity, union and determination.

In the
big cities across Romania, the National Day was also celebrated in a small format, with only local authorities participating in the ceremonies.

The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs celebrates the National Day of Romania by running a digital diplomacy project and the Romanian Cultural Institute organizes a
series of online events to promote Romanian culture and civilization abroad.