Romania Day 2019: celebrating our roots

A yearly Romanian socio-cultural evening filled with literature, history & Christmas cheer,
 featuring Romania's National Day

Given that on December 1^st is Romania’s National Day, this Saturday (November 30’19), I was truly grateful to be able to organize an honoring event and invite a group of friends at the beautiful facility of the New Westminster Arts Council in order to celebrate our country of origin, our ancestors, while recalling old traditions specific to this time of the year. Definitively it was a time to cherish and flourish!

I began the program with the Romanian Anthem (since we were honoring Romania's National Day), followed by the Canadian Anthem (since this is our county of adoption) – the musical notes filled the room with vibes of peace and authentic national pride.

Also, this evening I was truly happy to have with us again two guests of honor – Dr. Ovidiu Grecea together with his wife. Dr. Grecea is the General Consul of Romania and the Head of the Romanian Diplomatic Mission in Vancouver, as well as Plenipotentiary Minister of Romania in Canada. 

At this event, Consul Grecea was kind to give us a briefing on his continuous work of maintaining and propagating the value of the Romanian culture abroad, and reminded that it is part of the officials’ mandate to make the famous Romanians known far and wide in the world. 

Consul Grecea comes often to my Romanian literary evenings, and each time he could join the group we all are truly grateful, because for many of us he represents the country we left behind, and when the country’s representative is present, somehow, it feels that the distance between the country of adoption and the homeland shrinks, making our hearts pulsating at a faster beat. 

By commemorating our roots, we honor our ancestors and our traditions, fact which makes us travel back in time, remembering our parents and grandparents, most of whom are gone today, but whose memory will be eternal, no matter how far away from home we are. 

Then, my program continued with a number of interesting presentations, evoking famous Romanians, reciting poems, recalling dear traditions or reminding important pages of Romanian history, which I will list below.
For instance, personally, I was truly pleased to be able to introduce to the group the Romanian born writer and painter, Pnina Granirer, who is a fantastic artist!

A page of current history: Portrait Pnina Granirer

The artist has been the subject of two films shown on BRAVO!TV and Knowledge Network and of numerous reviews in magazines such as Vanguard, Art Magazine, Artichoke, Arts West and Art Post, as well as interviews and profiles on Vision TV, Knowledge Network, CBC (English & French) Radio and TV, TV5 and TF1, Strasbourg, France (1980). 

Her works are found in many private and Public Galleries collections, in Canada (some as Cultural Property donations), the US, Chile, Europe and Israel.

Granirer has always followed her own vision, taking risks by disregarding the trends and fashions of the art world. Her work reflects her keen interest in history and universal questions such as good and evil and the meaning of life.
Pnina's book ("Light Within the Shadows - A Painter's Memoir") will be discussed at my summer book club session (when the author will be present) and here is the link if you wish to procure it ahead of time. 

In the comments section, I’m publishing Pnina’s biography, and for your further information, here I’m enclosing the link of a short documentary featuring Pnina’s artistic work; this video was produced by CBC and it was also shown on Knowledge Network. 
After we all watched the video, the room for a little while was silent…a very expressive silence, which brought upon a profound sense of admiration, later expressed by each participant. 
Then, I was truly happy to present 2 poems Pnina composed as a child. In my opinion, these handwritten poems, printed by a young girl speak so loud and clear about the love for peace, about the thirst for a normal life, about the beauty of a family staying strong during harsh times...and in the end, a nice touch proofing that light always prevails, which I find really inspirational! I was truly honoured to be able to recite her childhood, handwritten poems.

Pnina was kind to provide few original documents, and with her permission for this website only, I’ve put together a concise collage, which reflects the sharing.

After that, my guests continued with a number of varied presentations, which I will briefly share below:

- Our dear friend, Dorina Aldea, read few paragraphs from a beautiful article she wrote, called: “Scrisoare de Ziua Ta, Românie!” (this article also has been circulated by two other well-established Romanian publications: "Ziarul Natiunea" & "Uniunea Ziaristilor Profesionisti din Romania")…with Dorina's permission, the entire article is published in comments section.  

- Then our good friends, Sandu O., enumerated a number of famous Romanian inventors, which brought significant contributions to humanity’s wellbeing with theirs inventions. Sandu’s presentation is published in the comments section.

- After that, our kind and dear friend Nicoleta N. recited a poem followed by a short history, emphasizing the ancestor’s love for the country’s flag. The presented materials are published in the comments section. 

- Subsequently, Daniela read to the group a page of history featuring fam. Golescu (few fragments from her long reading are published in the comments).
- And last, but not least, Teodor T. recited a poem (personal composition), which (with Teodor's permission) is published in the comments section, and shared with us all how important he believes it is to make sure our children will never forget the Romanian language.

After all the presentations were delivered, we raised up, singing together the Romanian historic 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 peacefully live nowadays in a united country.

The toast that followed was unanimous: “TRÃIASCÃ ROMÂNIA MARE!” ("LONGLIVE THE GREATER ROMANIA") – we raised our glasses with (non-alcoholic) champagne to honor this beautiful moment of peace and unity!

Also, while at this page, I would like to acknowledge that Maria Marcu had the original initiative (as a surprise to me and to all) to bring from her home few popular costumes and several of my guests enjoyed trying them on, while posing.  

The program continued with a number of well-known Christmas carols, followed by refreshments and long conversations around the food we shared. 

On the other hand, from a spiritual perspective, November 30^th is also known as Saint Andrew’s Day (which is also a national and legal holiday in Romania) and at this time of the year, exists the old traditional custom of planting wheat seeds and keeping them indoor until the New Year’s Eve, when the fresh green leaves of the wheat would germinate and grow, symbolizing in their freshness the prosperity for the next year.
For this very special evening, I’ve prepared for my guests pots with wheat, I’ve personally planted early that day, and gifted them each so they could enjoy it together with their families on the New Year’s Day! Accompanying the wheat pots, each family received from me a handwritten Christmas card, filled with greetings of peace for a great year ahead, good health and joyful moments together with their loved ones. 

The time spent together with my guests was pleasing in every way, and once again I was truly grateful to be able to offer my friends a new occasion to create more beautiful memories!

In closing, I’m sending along a big ‘THANK YOU!’ to all my guests who were able to honor my invitation, wishing them again blessed & happy winter holidays!

Alice

Mesaj personal din partea lui Alice, adresat direct in limba romana:

Dragii mei,

Inca odata, doresc sa-mi exprim sincera apreciere pentru participarea si atentia pe care ati acordat-o intalnirii omagiale pe care am organizat-o pe data de vineri (30 noiembrie 2019), ce a avut ca tematica 'Ziua Romaniei'.

Cu totii am avut parte de o reuniune de exceptie, unde bucuria de a fi roman a fost exprimata intr-un mod atat de autentic, elocvent si edificator, fiind foarte expresiv oglindita pe fetele tuturor invitatilor serii. 

Totul s-a petrecut intr-un mod sincer si natural, facand ca incaperea sa se umple cu o lumina calda si aparte, din care, la plecare, fiecare a luat cate o raza cu sine acasa.
Va multumesc!
Alice

“Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.” AliceFriendsCircle.blogspot.com

Mesaj primit înspre publicare din partea Domnului Dr. Ovidiu Grecea* şi al Doamnei Liliana Grecea

Dragă Alice...care faci minuni, sincere mulțumiri pentru onoranta invitație care a făcut ca în această după-amiază, magnificul grup de români să ne primească cu atâta dragoste, căldură sufletească și reală plăcere, într-o zi simbol al credinței și iubirii nemărginite față de România, la 101 ani de la momentul istoric de referință pentru noi toți, acela al Marii Uniri ... cuvintele noastre sunt insuficiente și nu vor reuși să exprime sentimentele noastre de mândrie, de respect față de cei prezenți și de recunoștință pentru deosebitele clipe petrecute împreună, față de consistența discuțiilor, prezentărilor, remarcilor și intervențiilor fiecărui ROMÂN, în parte. A fost o îngemănare de noblețe sufletească și spirituală, de puternice emoții și trăiri personale, de patriotism adevărat care demonstrează că românii-canadieni de aici sunt oameni adevărați și cu o sensibilitate aparte față de rădăcinile și seva sănătoasă ancestrală românească. Un exemplu pentru mulți alții, un mesaj concret față de autoritățile din România și de nouă generație, de acolo sau de aici. Felicitări și mulțumiri încă odată, grâul ne va aduce sănătate și belșug, felicitarea ne va însoți și întări în activitatea noastră din 2020 iar această zi specială va rămâne suportul pentru a clădi noi punți sufletești și de unire în cuget și simțire a românilor din Vancouver și împrejurimi. Cu mult drag, La Mulți Ani, ROMÂNIA!!!  Trăiască România și voi toți!!! Liliana și Ovidiu Grecea

*Domnul Ovidiu Grecea este Consul General şi Ministru Plenipotenţiar al României la Vancouver

Our culture shapes up our identity.

Snapshots from our time together (Saturday – November 30, 2019)

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

● ARTICLE featuring our event on November 30, 2019, published by OBSERVATORUL (from Toronto)

NOTE: Update per December 31, 2029 – The fresh green wheat

An old common tradition, still kept today by some people is to plant wheat seeds (on November 30^th – on Saint Andrew’s Day) and to keep the pot indoor until the New Year’s Eve, when you would put it on your dining table as an original center piece as well as a natural symbol of prosperity & abundance for the coming year.

● A previous event I organized on the same theme: ROMANIA's NATIONAL Day – 2018

● Some of my greetings referring to ROMANIA's NATIONAL Day – 2019, 2018 

NOTE: Dear readers, please be advised that on this website each of the previous postings, pertaining to the recurrent annual themes, portray a different perspective of the subject/s presented (same theme/s, but a different outlook without duplication due to the cultural richness of the specific topic/s discussed). 

Alice’s Book Club – AUTUMN session of 2019

Special edition – live session with author Pavel Corutz

The autumnal session of my book club was happening this Friday (November 29’19) at a public library, making for a very special edition as we had with us directly from Romania, the well-known writer, Pavel Corutz.

Before I will give you the usual briefing, once again, I would like to express my most sincere appreciation to our good friend Sandu Oprea, who (to begin with) was very kind to introduce us the author Pavel Corutz this summer, when he brought along, at one of our gatherings, the book called “Towards the heights of successes” (written by Pavel Corutz).

Also, while at this page, it is important to mention that Sandu translated from Romanian language to English the entire book, and personally I consider his gesture a genuine sign of profound respect from a mentee for his mentor. In addition, Sandu offered a TV interview on this very book, which (with Sandu’s permission) you can listen to, by following this link.

In brief about the author: Pavel Corutz is a prolific Romanian author, who wrote more than 140 books, with themes ranging from fantasy novels to life-guiding volumes, having a sharp focus on applied psychology. 
For your convenience, below is the short synopsis of the book in discussion ("Towards the heights of successes - The Happiness Formula"), as circulated by “Goodreads”. 

“This is a simple book about the art of success, thus that to be easy reading and understanding for the persons that does not know psychology and doesn't have time (or desire) to study it. A book with information and clear rules together with many useful examples for life. A book for you to learn at least few rules that are applicable in your field, any field would be that one. A book able to reach the last village, schools and universities, small entrepreneurs, and retirement's people who could still be active but they do not know how. In this book, we will talk only about rules and sure information that will help you to climb toward the heights of successes. I guarantee that each person who learns this book will obtain successes in one or more than one fields, according to his training and his mobilization, and also according to political-economic and social situation from the country. Everybody is able to succeed in a field or another one.” 

Further, I will share with you, in a concise manner, how our evening unfolded.

Because Sandu knows the book in and out, before we began our live conversation with the author, he gave the group a brief refresher, even though each participant read it. The conversation that ensued was ‘seasoned’ with lots of questions, which were saved for the author.

Our special guest, the author Pavel Corutz, joined us straight from Romania, via modern technology means; given the time zone difference, in order to be with us for our scheduled 6 pm (PST) gathering, the author had to wake up at 4 am (EET), so we could have the book related conversation. The entire audience found his gesture really heart touching.
The book in discussion is quite vast, but for the purpose of our session we approached only the personal development aspect, and how a person could apply an array of positive changes (as suggested in the book) to the daily routine in order to improve many aspects of personal life.

Then the dialogue began, while each participant was taking turns in expressing the appreciation for the opportunity, while sharing the impact this book left on reader, as well as asking the author different subsequent questions, and here are just few concepts that were touched on that evening:
- In essence, what is the conscious and the subconscious mind?
- How one could mobilize the force of the conscious mind?

- What were the sources of inspiration for this book?

- How can a person use positive suggestion/s?
- How to select and pursue thoughts and wishes?
- What we can do to become better parents?
- How we can better understand and communicate with our children?
- How we can stay away from negativity?
- Analysis and synthesis are complementary operations of the logical thinking and how can we better use them both to improve our lives?
- Specification and generalizations are antagonist and closely related actions taken by the logical thinking and how by mastering these we could become better in whatever we do?. …and so on…..

Here I will also share few inspiring concepts from the many that are discussed in his book:

- Hopes are “blooming” and they develop when they meet helpful opportunities for their fulfillment

- The right to hope supposes to be assessed by moral in a society, because hopes & faiths connected to them are building together a healthy work & life environment

- It’s strictly forbidden to affect somebody’s hopes with direct or indirect negative suggestions
- Have hopes, learn, and work to transform your dreams into reality!

All my guests that evening had many questions or comments for the author, who was so very kind to answer each of them. By the end of the conversation, the author Pavel Corutz recited for us, with such a touching tone of voice, few poems he composed that gave us all prominent goosebumps. In closing, he wished us all the best, passing along his warmest greetings, as on December 1^st it is Romania’s National Day. As a result, we all felt the room filling with such a profound sense of togetherness, unity and national joy, which again gave us all new goosebumps. After we waved good bye to our special guest, we spent a little while digesting the experience that just happened, which can’t be put properly into words, but nonetheless, extraordinary in every way. 

Then we continued our evening together with the usual light refreshments and peaceful talks. Time was passing by very fast, but we all managed to mark this evening as very distinctive. Once again, my genuine gratitude to all my friends who were able to honor my invitation for this very special edition of my seasonal book club.
Until next time, my best regards to each of you for a satisfying rest of autumn!

Alice   

“If anything can be done by somebody, it can be done by me.” (Pavel Corutz)

As life goes on…

Recently it came to me, stronger than ever, that indeed LIFE is an amazing process of accumulation and as time goes by the variety of experiences encountered could build up a better understanding of all what it is, the way it is. 

                       "Happiness is a good flow of life." (Zeno of Citium)

Aside of that, based on a number of diverse observations, I realize even more (with my heart while going beyond my logical mind) that if we truly and sincerely listen attentively (with an open mind & open heart, meanwhile holding the sincere intent of understanding, not just having the desire to retain only as a base to reply), if we pay close attention to life as it happens, if we stop projecting our feelings then it would be possible to reach a deeper state of understanding that could lead to a better quality of communication (which is the most important & effective way to express our thoughts, feelings & emotions). In this particular state, without any doubt, horizons would expand exponentially, while allowing life its authentic flow.  

"Communication works for those who work at it." (John Powell)

November 11, 2019: REMEMBRANCE Day

The time of the year to pay tribute – to reflect, to remember and to honor all the brave veterans who risked their lives in the past and in the present so we can live in peace, which reminds us that in fact freedom does have a price!

Red poppies are symbolizing our remembrance & white poppies are symbolizing a peaceful future.

Below is a briefing I wrote some time ago, which I find timely re-sharing.

Honoring a beloved grandfather

Each year, during the “Remembrance Day” (on November 11, in Canada) the picture of one of my beloved grandfathers, who was also a veteran of the Second World War & a scientist in his civilian life, comes to me so vividly, melting my heart more than ever!

My grandfather was a very kind and wise man, who had a tremendous respect for life. As I was growing up, often he was sharing with us kids extremely valuable stories featuring an enormous understanding and a profound respect for this precious gift called ‘life’ skillfully encompassing a multitude of facets.

It was autumn when he transitioned (many, many years ago) and my parents organized a funeral attended by all the notable and less notable names in the city at that time; for 3 days, our house was full of those people who kept coming to pay their last respects to him. At that time I was a teenager, but I still remember very clearly that on the second day of his funerals at the gates of our residence a significant group of beggars did show up, all of them crying and being in distress. Both my parents were quite concerned to see them there especially since nobody invited them and none of us knew who they are, but after my father approached them to see what is going on (I was shadowing my father very closely) to our surprise we’ve learned that they knew my grandfather (by his name to our further surprise) for a number of years because during his walks as a retired person each time he would’ve seen beggars on the street he either would’ve give them some money to eat, or would’ve take them to the closest restaurant to feed them, or would’ve have a good encouraging word for them or giving them some good advice for life, or would’ve take them with him to the closest pharmacy if they would’ve need to buy medicine and they didn’t have any money. I recall that my father spent a number of hours with those beggars hearing from each of them their story of how did they meet my grandfather. My mother was there too as well as the rest of the family. Beyond any doubt we all were extremely surprised as none of us knew all these things, because my grandfather never told us of how many people did he help; we all knew that he was a good man helping many people but we never knew that he was helping beggars and homeless people as well…we found out all these stories at his funerals, after he passed away and our hearts were deeply, deeply touched!

His entire life, my grandfather was a very humble person even though he was a known scientist in his circles. His modesty, his strong integrity, his dignity, the respect he always extended to each soul (no matter of the social status), his attitude of being of total unconditional service to each soul he would’ve met, his good deeds, his grace and more than anything else his deep respect for life in itself, offered him a special place in the hearts of all who knew him as he was always the embodiment of these virtues.

Many years after he transitioned, each time I went to visit him at his last resting place I always found at his monument new different bouquets with fresh flowers brought by people who knew him.
He was a beautiful soul, a brave veteran (he received a number of decorations for his bravery during the WWII, while saving many lives under harsh conditions), a wonderful grandfather, a loving father & a tender husband.
Even now, after so many years, his image and his voice are still resonating in my heart, while his timeless life teachings to me are truer than ever.

Love you, grandpa! Honor you, grandpa! Miss you deeply, grandpa!

"Silence" (video clip)

October 2019 – Message for THANKSGIVING Day

THANKSGIVING is such a special holiday which emphasizes the beauty of harvest time, the abundance of Earth, the celebration of work and peaceful life, as well as togetherness and gratitude…a blessed time of the year when one could easily realize the profound joy of ‘giving’ and ‘receiving’.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY, dear friends!

“Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.” (Ernest Hemingway)

● A previous post on the same theme: THANKSGIVING Day – 2018