What is Unification of the Romanian Principalities Day?
The Unification of the Romanian Principalities Day, Ziua Unirii Principatelor Române, celebrates the union of Moldavia and Wallachia under a single ruler, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, in 1859. It is sometimes called the Little Union, in contrast to the Great Union of 1918, when Transylvania, Bessarabia and Bukovina joined Romania. The day is a milestone in the creation of the modern Romanian state. Cuza's reforms, including land reform and a modern education law, are also remembered on the day.
Celebrations include the Hora Unirii, a circle dance performed in Iași, Bucharest and other cities, with officials, soldiers and ordinary citizens joining hands, along with official ceremonies, wreath-laying and concerts. Iași, the historical capital of Moldavia, hosts some of the largest events, and Union Square in Bucharest is a main site in the capital. The dance symbolises unity and is widely shown on Romanian television. Romania and Moldova both commemorate the day.
Why it is observed
In 1859 Moldavia and Wallachia, still under Ottoman suzerainty and the protection of the great powers, each had to elect a prince. Cuza was elected prince of Moldavia on 5 January and of Wallachia on 24 January, both old style, so the two principalities had the same ruler, which the great powers had long opposed but accepted once it happened. The full union of the two states followed in 1862. 24 January was declared a national holiday by a law of 2014, and a Labour Code amendment of 2016 made it a non-working day, first applied in January 2017.
How the date is set
The Unification of the Romanian Principalities Day is fixed on 24 January. The date follows the old-style (Julian) calendar that was in use in 1859, which corresponds to 5 February in the Gregorian calendar, but the holiday itself is kept on 24 January.
How it is observed
The Unification of the Romanian Principalities Day is a non-working public holiday in Romania, with banks, public offices and schools closed and official events and the Hora Unirii, usually in the morning. In 2027 it falls on a Sunday. Romanian law does not give a replacement day for holidays that fall on a weekend, though governments sometimes give extra days off in some years. Pay and time off depend on national law and the contract.
Sources
Romania