Romanians All Over the World Celebrated Their National Day

December 1, 1918, was the day Romanians from all territories they lived on assembled in the city of Alba Iulia and decided that from then on they will live united, as part of one state only. December 1st became Romania’s national day after communism was toppled 15 years ago.

Romanians living abroad celebrated the national day as Romanians always do: eating cabbage-rolls and listening to folk music.
The Romanian Cultural Institute sRCIt organized a few events around Europe, for Romanians abroad to enjoy.

One such event was the performance "Dream", of actor and director Dan Puric, on Wednesday, in the Concert Hall in Oslo, Norway. A reception at the Romanian Embassy to Oslo followed, marking the good bilateral relations, stated Anamaria Almasan, the Romanian charge d’affaires in Oslo.

The RCI, together with the Romanian Embassy to Madrid, Spain, organized a concert which will take place today, at the Real Academia de Bells Artes de San Fernando.
While at the Princess Sophia Hotel, in Barcelona, the Philharmonic Orchestra will perform for the Romanian community there. Tasting of Romanian champagne and red wines will top the event, stated Florin Angelo Florian, the council general for the Romanians in Barcelona.

In Stockholm, Sweden, a concert performed at the Music Museum reminded the friendship between two great musicians the two peoples had: George Enescu and Emil Sjogren.

In Israel, celebrations of the Romanian national day started with a folk music concert performed by Ducu Bertzi, Marius Batu, Mihai Nenita and Florian Pittis, at the Academy for Music and Dance in Jerusalem.

The Romanian ambassador in Finland, Neagu Udroiu, invited all Romanians to gather this Saturday in the Orthodox Chapel in Helsinki.

In Vienna, Austria, Romanians listened to the Acapella group, which performed Wednesday at the Belvedere Palace, during the celebration of Romania’s national day.

Mezzo-soprano Liliana Bizineche and pianist Constantin Sandu performed on Tuesday at the Foz Palace, during a reception hosted by the Romanian Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal.

Romanians in Milan, Italy, already celebrated the Romanian national day, one week ahead of the time. "Saturday and Sunday we had a festive meal, with traditional dishes only; in the evening and in the following day some 200 Romanians attended the concerts of Maria Ciobanu, Vasile Ciobanu, Nina Predescu, and the Doina Gorjului Group, which performed in the Theater in Milan," said Romulus Popescu, vice-president of the Association of Romanians in Italy.

The Romanian Society in Ireland will organize today a concert in Dublin. The celebrations will continue the next two days with presenting a documentary film about Romanian, folk- and pop-music concerts, and the delights of the Romanian cuisine.

For Romanians in France, the men’s choir from Finteus, Maramures County, will perform a folk-music concert, organized by the Romanian Embassy to Paris.
And the French-Romanian Friendship Association in Strasbourg, along the Romanian Consulate General there, will present a reef at the statue of Gen. Berthelot.

Some 500 Romanians in Australia celebrated the national day on Saturday, at the General Consulate in Sydney, eating traditional dishes only.
The Romanian Embassy in Canberra organized for the first time the celebration of the Romanian national day in Australia; on this occasion, Romanian pop singers Andra and Nicola will perform at The Broadway.

The Romanian Embassy in Athens, Greece, will open today its doors for all Romanians willing to celebrate the national day as a community.

The Romanian national day will also be celebrated during a four-day event in New York, with performances of George Enescu’s music.
Pianist Mihai Varga will give the opening concert, at the Mannes College in New York, where Enescu taught music. And a photo exhibition will be opened by two personalities who knew Enescu well: Lori Wallfish, awarded pianist and president of the Enescu Society in the USA, and Gabriel Banat, first violinist at the New York Philharmonic.
The events in New York are organized by the Romanian Cultural Institute there, the Mannes College, and the City University of New York.