Great Union Day
Great Union Day (Romanian: Ziua Marii Uniri, also called Unification Day or National Day) is a national holiday in Romania, celebrated on 1 December, marking the unification of Transylvania, Bassarabia, and Bukovina with the Romanian Kingdom in 1918, something that is known as the Great Union. This holiday was declared after the Romanian Revolution and commemorates the Great National Assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia, who declared the Union of Transylvania with Romania.
| Great Union Day | |
|---|---|
The Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia (1 December 1918) | |
| Official name | Romanian: Ziua Națională a României |
| Also called | Romanian: Ziua Marii Uniri |
| Observed by | Romania, Moldova (unofficially) |
| Celebrations | Military parades (most notably in Alba Iulia and Bucharest), fireworks |
| Observances | Te Deum at the Alba Iulia Orthodox Cathedral |
| Date | 1 December |
| Next time | 1 December 2024 |
| Related to | Day of the Unification of the Romanian Principalities (24 January) |
Prior to 1948, until the abolition of the monarchy, the national holiday was on 10 May, which had a double meaning: it was the day on which King Carol I set foot on Romanian soil (in 1866), and the day on which the prince ratified the Declaration of Independence (from the Ottoman Empire) in 1877. From 1948, during the period of Communist administration, the national holiday was on 23 August, Liberation from Fascist Occupation Day, to mark the 1944 overthrow of the pro-fascist government of Marshal Ion Antonescu, with parades held in Charles de Gaulle Square (then called Stalin Square and later Aviators' Square).