Unification Day marked today. President: We must cherish things that unite us”

Romanian celebrates today the Unification Day (Ziua Unirii). It is a public holiday in Romania to celebrate the union of modern Romania, the Union of the Romanian Principalities in 1859, the so-called Small Union, between Moldavia and Wallachia. It is not to be confused with Great Union Day on December 1.
Unification Day is a national public holiday in Romania so banks, public offices, and many private businesses are closed, as well as schools and other public institutions.

Although the principalities union was masterminded in 1859, it was on January, 1862 when the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia formally united to create the Romanian United Principalities. In 1866 a new Constitution came into force, which also gave the country’s current name, Romania. Transylvania joined Romania after WWI.

Alexandru Ioan Cuza was not only the main personality behind the Small Union, but he is famous for laying the foundations of the Romanian modern state. He started the unification of the administrations of the two Romanian Principalities. Cuza also adopted several reforms, including the secularization of the church lands, introduction of free primary education, a French-inspired civil code and criminal code, as well as the agriculture and army reforms.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis emphasized, on Monday, in the message on the occasion of the 163rd anniversary of the Union of the Romanian Principalities, that in times marked by many challenges, solidarity is needed. “The Romanian nation is stronger when it is in solidarity and we must cherish the things that unite us in order to make it easier for us to fight those that divide us”, said the President.

“We live in times of many challenges, and the COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed the reality we are used to, forcing us to take difficult steps, to make sacrifices, but also to make substantial efforts to overcome this crisis.

The complexity of this period calls for coherent and sustainable solutions. As we have shown so many times in the coming moments, we will continue to do everything necessary for Romania’s progress, for the defense of democratic values ​​and for the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms. As in the period following the Union of the Romanian Principalities, today we have the necessary tools and resources to modernize Romania.

The Romanian nation is stronger when it is in solidarity and we must appreciate the things that unite us in order to make it easier for us to fight with those that divide us. Let us act, therefore, every day, with the same tenacity to consolidate the European and democratic path of our country! Thank you and good health! Happy Birthday Romania! Happy birthday, dear Romanians! “