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In a message sent on Friday, on National Anthem Day, Defense Minister Vasile Dincu emphasizes that it represents a touchstone of the nation and urges the Romanians to listen to its "peculiarly relevant" message in the current difficult regional security context, the National Defense Ministry informs in a release.
The DefMin brings to mind that the anthem was born from the "felicitous symbiosis between the musical genius of Anton Pann and Andrei Muresanu's well-known poem 'Un Rasunet/An Echo', in the historical context favored by the ideals of the 1848 Revolution", and that "Desteapta-te, romane!/Awaken Thee, Romanian!" was officially sung for the first time on July 29, 1848 in Ramnicu Valcea.
"The song quickly won its place in the hearts of patriotic Romanians, establishing itself in its time as a symbol of the reawakening of the consciousness of our Romanian origin, a catalyst for the revival of national dignity, of unity of nation and language. In the great battles fought by the Romanian people in the centuries that followed, from the Independence War to the First and Second World War, the chords of this legendary song have raised the hearts and carried to victory thousands and thousands of soldiers with the tricolor on their chests," Vasile Dincu says.
On December 1, 1918 - he goes on to note - the more than 100,000 Romanians gathered in Alba Iulia from all corners of the country to witness the most important moment in our history, the accomplishment of the Great Union, vibrated again in unison to the melody of the march "Awaken, Thee, Romanian!"
"Forbidden during the communist period, but never forgotten by the Romanians, 'Awaken Thee, Romanian!' triumphed in the December 1989 Revolution, reconfirming its power and vocation to unite the Romanians' energies and asserting itself as the national anthem. Naturally, July 29, the date it was first sung publicly, was established by law in 1998 as Romania's National Anthem Day. The ancient patriotic march is played today in the opening of military ceremonies and major public events of the Romanian state," says the Defense Minister.
"On National Anthem Day, I urge each and everyone to pause just for a moment and listen to its peculiarly relevant message. In the complicated security situation in our region, with heavy war clouds darkening the skies of neighboring Ukraine, the Romanians have proven that they know and can act in unity to defend our national values and allies and that they carry forward the ancient values, generously offering shelter to the tens of thousands of Ukrainians who took refuge in our country," Vasile Dincu goes on to write.
According to the Defense Minister, on National Anthem Day "we must uncover our foreheads in sign of respect and symbolically unite our voices, wherever we are, to retrace the glorious path of this shrine-song of the Romanian nation from history to present day." AGERPRES
