It is Romania’s National Day. 106 years ago our country got united under one flag, one leadership, one dream.
Today was a travel day for us, as it usually is every year, as we have a simple and beautiful tradition to take our youth group to the mountains for a few days. As I was sitting in the car returning home, observing all the houses, the towns, villages and cities that we passed through, it was interesting to observe all the contrasts and opposites that form my country and my culture. We are such a beautiful, intense, wonderfully complex place to live in. And so are we, its people.
Geographically we’ve always been on the margin. The margin of the Roman Empire. The margin of the Turkish Empire. The margin of the Russian Empire. I wonder what that developed in us? How has that impacted our identity as Romanians? What heritage did we receive and what we are passing on?
Our history is complicated. Our present is complicated and it feels even more complicated during this tumultuous election season.
But as I was traveling today, I remembered that 106 years ago, on a cold December day, 100 000 Romanians traveled to a small town of 10 000 people to express their desire for this union that led to our beloved Romania. My travel today was comfortable and relaxing. I felt safe, my stomach was full and I felt cozy in our car. Back then, though, they had to brave the cold, the many dangers, the possibility of sleeping outside, the fears of “what ifs”, in order to stand for what they had dreamed of.
That day was complicated. It was not all butterflies and rainbows. That season was complicated, too and so was what followed. It took years for things to be established and even resemble something that felt hopeful. Our borders changed again not many decades later.
One of my favorite moments of the Union Day was the reading of the Declaration of the Union to the masses gathered outside – by Iuliu Hossu the greek-catholic bishop, accompanied by the orthodox bishop. Unity. Faith. Love. Hospitality. Hard work. Resilience. These are the things that I celebrate today, on Romania’s National Day. Our history is complicated, sometimes cruel, like the weather on that December morning. So is our present, BUT,
Romania, I love you! I am thankful to be Romanian. And more than anything, I am thankful to be a child of God. This is what makes me a good citizen. This is what makes someone a good citizen of any country. The mystery and beauty of the dual-citizenship is “God’s kingdom come, His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) This is life. This is hope. This nurtures hospitality and sustains dreams.
In Romania, as it is in heaven. His will be done.
And how I love that our National Day is the beginning of the Advent season! Nothing is wasted!
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