December 2018: Celebrating the Romanian Centenary

~ An evening of poetry, history & Christmas cheer, featuring Romania's National Day ~

Before too long, I am glad to share that on Friday (December 14’18) I was truly happy to be able to meet with a fairly large group of dear friends in order to celebrate the Romanian Centenary as this special year would end up soon. Our gathering this time was a bit different than usual, but without any doubt, enjoyable in every way.

The evening together unfolded with a cheerful & well garnished potluck & after that we all settled around, in a large circle so we could start with our cultural section. 

We began our program with the Romanian Anthem (since we were honoring the Romanian Centenary), followed suit by the Canadian Anthem….needless to say that our hearts open widely, as the musical notes filled the room with such a profound sense of unity and heart touching national pride, in the most genuine sense.

The evening continued with a number of interesting presentations, when my friends evoked important pages of Romanian history; they brought along old photo albums with dear ancestors who created those pages of history, they shared original compositions (poems, songs & essays) especially created for the occasion, a large genealogical tree and many heart warming life stories that were shared in such a genuine manner….some of them I will elaborate below.
For instance, we were pleased to have with us that evening our friend Doina, whose ancestor is the Greek-Catholic Bishop Iuliu Hossu.   

Portrait: The Greek-Catholic Bishop, Iuliu Hossu
Iuliu Hossu was a Greek-Catholic priest, Bishop of the Cluj-Gherla Diocese (1885-1970) and a very well-known historic figure (biography), who in the year 1918, read to a 100,000 Romanians the ‘Alba Iulia Proclamation’ which officially states the unification of Transylvania, Bessarabia and Bukovina with the Romanian Kingdom, during the reign of Ferdinand I. 
In the comments section I am publishing few historic articles & video links (both in Romanian & English languages) with background info, featuring Bishop Hossu.

Portrait: Ligia Oancea

Also, on Friday, our friend Ligia Oancea, a talented music conductor and song writer (biography), brought along a personal composition – the poem called “Mi-e dor”, which (with Ligia’s permission) I am happy to be able to publish in the comments section.
Aside of that, we were delighted to hear from Ligia about her roots (Ligia is a descendent of Stârcea family), as she brought along her genealogical tree covering the last 600 hundred years. With Ligia’s permission for this website only, I’ve put together a concise collage, which reflects her sharing. 

Further, our friend Dana offered a brief expose referring to Emmanuel de Martonne and Robert Ficheux – two French geographers who allocated many years of research accurately mapping the Central Europe, as well as Romania.

Besides, Dana presented a centenary medal produced by a group of Romanians from diaspora; this distinction is accompanied by a special parchment listing a chart of a 100 famous Romanian historical figures.   

Our evening together continued with a lovely presentation offered by our dear friend Dorina Aldea, who wrote an article about the Romanian Centenary & a beautiful, heart-felt essay  (the original versions are written in Romanian Language and Dorina sent them along so I could publish both in the  comments section).

Another meaningful input was brought along by our friend Dean P., who further elaborated on the contribution of the Romanian Bishop Hossu to the Romanian history, describing it all in an educational manner.
Then our friend Ioana shared few personal memories adjoining Christmas family traditions.
And last, but not least, our dear friend Teo Trandafir delighted us with a personal poem as well as few remarks concerning the Romanian history and the Romanian Christmas traditions.

After all presentations were delivered, we raised our voices, singing together the famous Romanian song, called “Treceţi batalioane Române Carpaţii” (“Romanian Troops, Cross The Carpathian Mountains”) that made all our hearts beat faster, filling them with gratitude and appreciation for the many sacrifices our ancestors made so the Romanians would live nowadays in a peaceful, united and rejoiced country.

The toast that followed was unanimous: “TRÃIASCÃ ROMÂNIA MARE!” ("Longlive the Greater Romania") – we raised our voices & our glasses with (non-alcoholic) champagne to honor this beautiful moment of togetherness, and national pride.

Additionally, our group happiness was followed by a bouquet of very well-known Christmas carols, and with glowing hearts, we did sing them together, each rewinding in our minds precious childhood moments.

The time we spent together was relaxing and impressive in every way, without realizing that in fact we were creating lasting memories!
Now, when I write these line to you, I am deeply touched recognizing that certain heartwarming moments would be simply unforgettable, and I would like to thank each of my friends for their companionship.

On the other hand, I would like to briefly mention that at this time of the year, when Christmas is literally around the corner, all my guests were having busy agendas (mine not being an exception either), but despite the heaviness of their schedules, my dear friends walked the extra mile to spare few hours squeezing into their calendars our gathering – needless to say that my appreciation for all and each of them goes way beyond any words!
So, once again my dear friends, a big & heartfelt THANK YOU to each of you, & until we meet again, I'm wishing you all, happy, blessed and peaceful holidays!

Alice 

“A nation’s culture resides in the hearts of its people.”

     ● A page of old history: Portrait Bishop Iuliu Hossu

      ● A page of current history: Portrait Ligia Oancea

Snapshots from our time together (Friday - December 14, 2018)

This event has been delivered in Romanian Language, featuring Romanian culture. 

● An additional greeting I've created referring to Romania's National Day: Happy 100th anniversary, Romania! 

● ARTICLE featuring our event on December 14, 2018, published by OBSERVATORUL (from Toronto)

2018: Happy 100 anniversary, Romania!

A page of history: December 1 – Romania’s Great Unification Day

On December 1st, 2018, Romania celebrates its National Day as well as the passing of a 100 years since the 1918 Great Union (a major historic event that changed the country's course forever), which is also a source of great national pride.

This is one of the most important Romanian national holidays, and it is called the “Great Union Day” or the “Unification Day” (Romanian: "Ziua Marii Uniri") and in many parts of the world it is known as “National Romania Day”. 

This special holiday marks the unification of Transylvania, Bessarabia and Bukovina with the Romanian Kingdom in 1918. According to ‘Alba Iulia Proclamation’, all these Romanian regions joined Romania as a country, and here I will list only few significant political and academic contributors who made this historic event possible: Ion I.C. Bratianu, Vasile Goldis, Iuliu Maniu, Alexandru Vaida-Voevod, Ioan Suciu, Octavian Goga, Iuliu Hossu, Gheorghe Pop de Basesti. The proclamation was read to 100,000 Romanians by Iuliu Hossu, who was a Greek-Catholic priest, Bishop of the Cluj-Gherla Diocese. 

The Union marked the country’s history forever, but after that Romania had to pass through many other changes and challenges and some of them included the World War II, the Communist regime and the 1989 Revolution. 
Despite numerous hardships, it is also appropriate to mention that Romania still looks ahead with sound optimism, but it does not forget its past.

Every year, on December 1^st, throughout the entire country are taking place various festive events commemorating the national heroes and in Bucharest (the capital city), under the Arch of Triumph, it is held an annual military parade of the Romanian Armed Forces; after the parade, people gather with their families and friends to celebrate together. Also, it is customary to wear the colors of the Romanian flag (red, yellow & blue), which represent the different provinces of the country. 

In closing of this brief expose, I would like to refresh what Nicolae Iorga (a famous Romanian historian) said once upon a time: "People who don't know their history are like kids who don't know their parents", so please be mindful of that & remember: "The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future."

Greetings for a happy Saint Andrew’s Day!

               Happy Name Day to all who celebrate St. Andrew!

November 30: SAINT ANDREW – the First Called…

Celebrating someone’s Name Day it is an old European tradition; for centuries, all across the continent people have been celebrating their first names pretty much in the same way as we celebrate birthdays on this part of the world (over there, usually birthdays are celebrated mostly with the immediate family, but the name days are widely known and celebrated in larger circles). 

Generally speaking, each first name is assigned to one day of the calendar, based on different spiritual traditions, or specific historical events, or in relation with other facts.

Just imagine how pleasant it is to meet every year with dear friends for a joyful time, when nobody wonders how old you are?! In effect, it is like having a second birthday.

May the day find you close to those you love!

Alice’s Book Club – debut on October of 2018

As autumn beautifully unfolds on this part of the world, being spoiled for more than two weeks with a splendid ‘Indian summer’, on Friday (October 26’18) I was truly pleased to open my social book club – a fairly intimate gathering, which took place at a nice public library. 

Before I will give a brief description of the session in itself, I would like to quickly mention below some of the incredible benefits, in my opinion, a book club holds:
- For book lovers and not only, a book club offers a healthy intellectual stimulation
- It gives a sound sense of belonging to a community of likeminded people
- It allows for a good break from the daily routine
- It offers the freedom to be honest in sharing your views about the material you’ve read
- It is a welcoming environment, where one could make lifetime friends
- It is a good place to practice self-expression & it could increase confidence
- It helps decreasing stress & it builds teamwork
- It could aid gaining new perspectives 
- It gives a push to finish the reading on time, which would facilitate a meaningful participation to the subsequent discussions.
Summarizing here my rather brief points on the matter, without any doubt a good book club could be a nice, healthy, inspiring addition to any life style.

So, dear friends, please Read, Lead & Succeed!

Now, specifically speaking, for the opening session of my book club, I’ve selected the novel called “Behold the Dreamers”, by Imbolo Mbue, which is a book “about marriage, immigration, class, race, and the trapdoors in the American Dream – the unforgettable story of a young Cameroonian couple making a new life in New York just as the Great Recession upends the economy.” 

In order to give you a better sense of it, in the comments section below I am including the literary summary as well as a number of book reviews.
I was really glad to see how my group of friends deeply delved into many extensive comments, as in a way or another this book touched on a number of familiar similarities and interesting conclusions surfaced.  

Many questions were raised and answered by each participant, revealing personal perspectives about many aspects of life, and the final thought to ponder upon was: 

“What really makes life a success?”

An autumnal sketch – a traditional ‘taste’ of Romania

On the other hand, because the quince fruit it is the ‘perfect autumnal ingredient’, our dear friend Camelia was kind to offer us all some quince jam, which I was truly glad to present it to all participants that night in a Romanian traditional setting. It was such a culinary delight, we all loved tasting! 
Also, from a cultural stand point, under the concept of "Tales from my native land", in Romania there is a very well-known (old) folk song called "Galbena gutuie" ('Yellow Quince'), which I find appropriate sharing here...please enjoy it!

As usual, we wrapped up the evening in a very pleasant manner, committed to continue with our reading as well as sharing in this setting.

Once again, I would like to thank again all the book lovers who joined me that night – their enthusiasm, kindness and support always give me wings to prepare the next project. Until next time, to all and each of you, my best greetings for a beautiful rest of the autumn!

Alice  

The amazing impact of ART

There are numerous reliable, scholastic, papers which over time proved that art, such as poetry, music, visual arts, drawing, painting, iconography, calligraphy, collage, sculpture, storytelling, etc. have been playing a pivotal role in one’s soothing process

while at the same time would have the capability to elevate the human spirit toward the higher realms. 

For many people throughout the history, art meant a profound state, which entails a deep transformational process involving the heart, the mind and the body – all in itself leading to a very powerful and complex restorative experience, where creativity plays an essential role. 

Generally speaking, while walking the path of life, if you ever connected with a piece of art you happen ‘to meet’ on your way, and recognized the message or the feelings the artist was trying to convey then you just experienced on your own how influential art could be! 

Whether or not art is part of your daily life, there is no doubt that it can provide a wonderful avenue which can allow you to further explore more and settle yourself, while at the same time making possible to communicate these personal experiences to people around you - all with much transparency, joy and kindness. 

Through art you can find a lot of peace for yourself & offer it to others as well; you can bring hope, you can bring happiness, and definitively you can make tomorrow better than today. 

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see." (Edgar Degas)