National Day of Romania. 100 years since creation of Romanian nation state

Romania celebrates on 1st December its National Day and this year, the country marks 100 years since the creation of the Romanian nation state, that changed the country’s course of history. On this occasion, around 450 public events are held at home and abroad, to be attended by over 550.000 people.

Around 4000 military and specialists with the Defense Ministry, Interior Ministry, Romanian Intelligence Service and Protection and Guard Service march in Bucharest, at the National Day traditional parade, with 200 military vehicles and 50 aircraft flying over the Arc de Triomphe Square.

As many as 500 foreign soldiers also take part in the December 1st parade. According to Romanian Ministry of Defense (MApN), detachments of foreign servicemen are from Albania, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Republic of Moldova, Slovakia, United States of America, Turkey and Ukraine.

Military and religious wreath-laying ceremonies take place at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Carol I Park in Bucharest and in all cities across the country.

“The moment of December 1st, 1918 would not have been possible without the sacrifice of soldiers on the battlefields, without the wise political elites that strove to turn into reality the national ideal of Romanians in the historical provinces”, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said, adding that “The Centenary is not only about Romania of the past, but also about Romania of the future”.

Alba Iulia, central Romanian city where, on December 1st ,1918, the Romanian nation state was proclaimed, is the place where over 100.000 people are expected on December 1st to celebrate this special historical event, as this is where the Great Union resolution was signed 100 years ago. The unification declaration was read during a public event attended by over 100,000 Romanians from villages throughout Transylvania. Alba Iulia has been hosting, since Friday, a new edition of the Congress of Romanian Spirituality, attended by representatives of Romanian communities from all over the world. Here, the military parade will start at 15:30, on the city’s 1 Decembrie 1918 Blvd.

Parades, cultural events, religious ceremonies, wreath-laying ceremonies, shows of lights & sound, fireworks; fil, screenings; concerts, folk-music and dance shows are taking place all across Romania - Cluj, Timișoara, Iași, Sibiu, Brașov, Pitești, to name a few.

A series of cultural events are also being held on the occasion of Romania’s National Day at Romanian Cultural Institute offices abroad, in collaboration with Romania’s diplomatic missions (Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Chisinau, Istanbul, Lisbon, London, Madrid, New York, Paris, Prague, Rome, Stockholm, Szeged, Tel Aviv, Venice, Vienna, Warsaw).

Christmas Market in Bucharest’s Constituției Square also includes special events for December 1, namely concerts and folk music and dance shows starting 18:30, and a special music show dedicated to the National Day, starting tonight at 21:50.

Source:RRA,RRI,Romaniancentenary.org