Today, December 1st, is Romania’s National Day. It commemorates 106 years since Transylvania, Banat, Crișana, Maramureș, Bessarabia, and Bukovina united with the Kingdom of Romania. At the time, Romania comprised Wallachia and Moldavia. The event took place at Alba Iulia on 1st of December 1918 and is without doubt the most important moment in my country’s history. Called the Great Union Day or Unification Day, this is a date that no Romanian should ever forget. We cannot, and must never forget our dream of a Great Romania (România Mare). For all Romanians inhabiting several thousand-year-old historic provinces, the Great Romania dream meant leaving and breathing under a single, independent country’s flag.
The Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia was held on 1st December 1918. This assembly consisted of 1,228 elected representatives of the Romanians in Transylvania, Banat, Crișana, and Maramureș. It was held in Alba Iulia. Vasile Goldiș, a leading politician and member of the Academy, delivered the decisive declaration:
“(…) The National Assembly of all the Romanians of Transylvania, Banat and Hungary, assembled by their authorized representatives in Alba Iulia on December 1, 1918, decrees the union of those Romanians and of all the territories inhabited by them with Romania. In particular, the National Assembly proclaims the inalienable right of the Romanian nation to the entire Banat lying between the rivers Mureș, Tisa and Danube.”
Vasile Goldiș
It was an unanimous vote. Later that day, the declaration was read by the Catholic Bishop Iulian Hossu at the public event attended by over 100,000 Romanians. They witnessed the fulfilment of this long-dreamt union that first existed many years before in the minds and souls of the Romanian scholars, the rulers, peasants, and soldiers from all over the historical regions-Moldavia, Wallachia, Transylvania, Bessarabia, Bukovina, Banat, Crișana, and Maramureș. For the sake of clarity, I must mention that the unification of Moldavia and Wallachia took place on 24th January 1859 under Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza. This event, known as the Little Union, is now celebrated as the Day of the Unification of the Romanian Principalities.
The last chapter of this Romanian history episode was written the same day in Bucharest by Queen Marie of Romania and King Ferdinand. While in Alba Iulia people were gathered to witness the Union, Queen Marie along with King Ferdinand and French General Berthelot were triumphantly marching the streets of Bucharest for the first time in two years. They were coming back to the capital after the terrible exile days spent in Iasi. The authors of the 1918 Union conceived the two events together. The two events were planned simultaneously by the authors of the Union of 1918. Everything was a well-thought statement to entire the world, and most importantly, for the Romanian people.
Queen Marie of Romania
For any Romanian who knows history, to talk about the Great Union is to bring the powerful, beautiful and one of the most influential queens of those times back to the present - Queen Maria of Romania. She undoubtedly made a huge difference in turning around Romania's critical moments. She was without question one of Europe's most influential female royal figures.
Romanian people named her Empress of all Romanians, Soldier Queen, Mother of All, and rightly so. Of all these right reasons, the Great Union is by far the most important one. English by birth, Romanian by heart, Queen Marie was the unexpected, unbelievable and strongest of all for keeping the faith when the dream of a Great Romania seemed to be lost. Her perseverance, her stubbornness, her influence, her diplomatic efforts, but above all her love for the country that adopted her, made this Great Union possible.
“The whole city was delirious. […] now we were returning victorious, despite the misfortunes, we were returning after we had fulfilled the Dream of Ages, the Golden Dream of Romania. We were returning with Greater Romania- we were returning as king and queen of all Romanians. It’s almost unbelievable, but it’s true!”
Queen Marie of Romania
You now understand why, from our perspective, the First World War only provided the context in which the Kingdom of Romania united its remaining historic provinces — Transylvania, Bessarabia, and Bukovina. The objective had been set long before. It was a transgenerational dream that came true on December 1st, following many years of Romanian people’s sacrifices and diplomatic efforts.
What Romania's National Day Means to Me
December 1st is Romania's National Day. On this day, I honour my grandparents and all the generations that came before them. They fought and died for #RomâniaMare 🇹🇩 for freedom, sovereignty and independence. I am who I am today because of them. Their blood runs through my veins, as does their faith, values and past experiences. They showed me what love for your country really means, and instilled in me a fierce appreciation for understanding its history.
I am grateful for being their granddaughter and for all the good things they passed on to me.Their faith kept them going during the most difficult times of their lives. This was a way of living their lives that they had inherited from their parents and the generations that came before them.
Today, I bow before all my ancestors, honouring their lives, destinies and deaths, and say THANK YOU with all of my gratitude!
Happy birthday, Romania! 🙏 #GreatUnion #1december #Romania
