| Great Union Day | |
|---|---|
 TheGreat National Assembly of Alba Iulia (1 December 1918) | |
| Official name | Romanian:Ziua Națională a României |
| Also called | Romanian:Ziua Marii Uniri |
| Observed by | Romania Moldova (unofficially) |
| Celebrations | Military parades (most notably inAlba Iulia andBucharest) and fireworks |
| Observances | Te Deum at theAlba Iulia Orthodox Cathedral |
| Date | 1 December |
| Next time | 1 December 2025 (2025-12-01) |
| Related to | Day of the Unification of the Romanian Principalities (24 January) |
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Great Union Day (Romanian:Ziua Marii Uniri; also calledUnification Day[1] orNational Day) is aRomanian national holiday celebrated on 1 December to mark the 1918Great Union (the unification ofTransylvania,Bassarabia, andBukovina with theKingdom of Romania).[2] The holiday was declared after theRomanian revolution and commemorates theGreat National Assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held inAlba Iulia, who declared theUnion of Transylvania with Romania.[3]
Until the abolition of the Romanian monarchy in 1947, the national holiday was observed on 10 May, which had a double meaning as it was the date on which the futureKing Carol I first set foot on Romanian soil in 1866 and on which he later ratified Romania'sDeclaration of Independence from theOttoman Empire in 1877. During the communist regime from 1947 to 1989, the national holiday was observed on 23 August (Liberation from Fascist Occupation Day) to mark the1944 overthrow ofIon Antonescu's government byKing Michael I, with parades held inCharles de Gaulle Square (then called Stalin Square and later Aviators' Square). In 1990, the holiday's date was moved to 1 December to match the date of the Great Union.
ModernRomania appeared after theunification of Moldavia and Wallachia by princeAlexandru Ioan Cuza on 24 January 1859. This act, sometimes known as the Little Union, is now celebrated as theDay of the Unification of the Romanian Principalities (or Little Union Day).[4][5][6]
On 1 December 1918 (November 18Old Style), theGreat National Assembly of Alba Iulia, consisting of 1,228 elected representatives of the Romanians inTransylvania,Banat,Crișana, andMaramureș, convened inAlba Iulia and decreed (by unanimous vote) "the unification of those Romanians and of all the territories inhabited by them with Romania".[7]
The Resolution voted by the National Assembly stipulated also the "fundamental principles for the foundation of the new Romanian State". It was conditional, and demanded the preservation of a democratic local autonomy, the equality of all nationalities and religions.[8] Later, theRomanian National Council of Transylvania [ro] was also formed.[9]
The next day, 2 December 1918, the Romanian National Council of Transylvania formed a government under the name of theDirecting Council of Transylvania, Banat and the Romanian Lands in Hungary [ro], headed byIuliu Maniu.[10]
On 11 December 1918 KingFerdinand I signed the Law regarding the Union of Transylvania, Banat, Crișana, theSatmar, and Maramureș with the OldKingdom of Romania, decreeing that:[11]
The lands named in the resolution of the Alba-Iulia National Assembly of the 18th of November 1918 are and remain forever united with the Kingdom of Romania.
— Ferdinand I, 11 December 1918[11]
Resolution 903 of the Council of Ministers on 18 August 1948 had marked 23 August as the national holiday. Law 10/1990, declared on 1 August 1990, moved the national holiday to 1 December.[12] It was adopted in 1990 by aparliament dominated by members of theNational Salvation Front andpromulgated by the presidentIon Iliescu. The decision combated in some amount sympathy with the tradition of Romanianmonarchy, associated with 10 May, but also disappointed the anti-communist opposition, who wished for the national holiday to be moved to 22 December.
The choice of 1 December referred to the unification of the provinces ofTransylvania,Banat,Crișana, andMaramureș withRomania in 1918. The choice of this day as a national holiday was seen then by some Hungarians as an affront to theHungarian minority of Romania, which signified for them a loss in political power.[13]
The first 1 December national holiday saw the largest celebrations inAlba Iulia, the location in which theproclamation of the union ofTransylvania withRomania 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.[14]Petre Roman, then the prime minister, showed such pleasure at these repeated interruptions thatIon Iliescu had to gesture to him to stop. This signal was captured on film and spread widely by the mass media.[15]
Every year, an annualmilitary parade known officially as theNational Military Parade (Romanian:Parada Militară Națională) of theRomanian Armed Forces either on the grounds ofPiața Constituției (Constitution Square) or onȘoseaua Kiseleff just within metres of theArcul de Triumf in centralBucharest is held in honor of the occasion.[16] A parade is also held in the city ofAlba Iulia and other major cities.[citation needed]
ThePresident of Romania is the guest of honor at theBucharest parade. As Commander in Chief, the president receives the report of theChief of the Romanian General Staff upon their arrival on the square to a bugle call fanfare being played by a lone trumpeter. After receiving the salute, the president walks to salute the color guard provided by theMichael the Brave 30th Guards Brigade before inspecting and greeting the guard of honor. After this,Deșteaptă-te, române! is then performed by the Massed Bands of theBucharest Garrison, made partly from musicians of the 30th Guards Brigade and a combined military and civilian choir as a21-gun salute is fired in the background. Following this, in the Kiseleff Road parade, the president lays a wreath at theArcul de Triumf before heading back to the grandstand. After this, the parade commander, who is a general-ranked officer of the Armed Forces, then orders the start of the parade in the following manner:
The parade proper then begins at this point which is usually led by a massedcolor guard and foreign troops[17] before theactive personnel of the armed forces march on the parade route as the massed bands play music led by its senior director. A historical segment of servicemen in First World War uniforms usually forms part of the march past. The march past is composed first of all active formations followed by those of the military academies and NCO schools.
After this, the ground mobile column, which are composed of tanks, APCs, IFVs, the field and air defense artillery and logistics vehicles of the Armed Forces, police vehicles, andemergency vehicles follow, accompanied by the occasional flypast of the Armed Forces and Police. Foreign troops have included delegations fromTurkey, theUnited Kingdom,Moldova, and theUnited States, with specific units including theSlovenian Guards Unit, theUnited States Marine Corps and theHonor Guard Company of the Moldovan National Army.[18]
The parade is then ended with the Honour Guard Company of the30th Guards Brigade and then followed by the massed bands marching off the square.[citation needed]
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