Google doodle celebrates Romania’s Great Union Day

Happy Great Union Day, Romania!

To celebrate the Great Union Day of Romania, Google illustrates a beautiful doodle on the Romanian flag on December 1, 2022. Great Union Day (Romanian: Ziua Marii Uniri, also called Unification Day or National Day) is a national holiday in Romania, marking the unification of Transylvania, Bessarabia, and Bukovina with the Romanian Kingdom in 1918.

Romania was created through the unification of Wallachia and Maldovia in 1859, which is known as “the Little Union.” In 1881, after gaining independence from the Ottoman Empire, Romania became a monarchy. Romania and Austria-Hungary disputed over Transylvania—a territory with a population that was primarily Romanian.

The National Assembly gathered in Alba Iulia and unanimously voted in favor of the greater union in 1918. The assembly included elected representatives from Transylvania, Banat, Crisana, and Maramures. Ferdinand, I passed the law of unification the following day.

The first national holiday was celebrated in Alba Iulia, where the proclamation of the union of Transylvania with Romania was signed. They were marked by significant political polarization: Corneliu Coposu, then the leader of the anticommunist opposition, was interrupted several times during a speech by boos from the crowd. Petre Roman, then the prime minister, showed such pleasure at these repeated interruptions that Ion Iliescu had to gesture to him to stop. This signal was recorded and spread widely by the mass media.

Nowadays the day is celebrated with National Military Parade by the Romanian armed forces either on the grounds of Piața Constituției (Constitution Square) or on Șoseaua Kiseleff just within meters of the Arcul de Triumf in central Bucharest. The president of Romania becomes the chief guest at the Bucharest parade.

Local events across the country are also held to remember those who fought for independence and unification. The Romanian blue, yellow, and red national flag, like the one waving in today’s artwork, can be seen throughout the nation. The cobalt blue represents liberty, the chrome yellow symbolizes justice, and the vermillion red embodies fraternity.

Source: Google doodles, Wikipedia