Celebration of national day? Maybe…
Today is the country’s national day. Today the Romanians celebrate the “unification” of Romania in 1918. Now, not all people in Romania celebrate this event. Therefore for me it is a bit stupid that this date was chosen as the national day. Because a national day should engage each citizen, or should be relevant to them at least. But it is not for around 7% of the population. More then that, it is considered a tragedy for 7% of the population, more like a national day of mourning.
Transylvania was part of Hungary till this day, and this unification after the First World War meant that this land became part of Romania. Transylvania basically was a gift for Romania for its role in the second part of the “Big Fight”. Before this day in Transylvania the majority of the population was Hungarian (Transilvanya considered as old traditional province and not in the form considered today)and since then it started the “reshaping” of the population which lead to a majority of Romanian population nowadays. 1/5th of the Hungarians went to Hungary right after the unification and later more in a forced way the ethnic % has been changed (especially during the communism).
Transylvania was part of Hungary till this day, and this unification after the First World War meant that this land became part of Romania. Transylvania basically was a gift for Romania for its role in the second part of the “Big Fight”. Before this day in Transylvania the majority of the population was Hungarian (Transilvanya considered as old traditional province and not in the form considered today)and since then it started the “reshaping” of the population which lead to a majority of Romanian population nowadays. 1/5th of the Hungarians went to Hungary right after the unification and later more in a forced way the ethnic % has been changed (especially during the communism).
For the Hungarians this “unification” is a tragedy because it means separation from the mother land and the ethnic changes following this. I think the best books about this were written by Wass Albert (available in English on Amazon). The dude is highly controversial (charged with war crimes by Romania); however his books are very good, they describe very well what happened in the period after that. I heard a lot about this period from my grandfather as well and his books are just like those stories of him.
I think it is not a lack of patriotism, or it is not nationalism the fact the Hungarians can’t celebrate this day. I think it is natural and therefore I think the national day should be another day, which is more relevant to the entire population. For example could be the Revolution in 1989 instead, where all the nations were fighting the communism together.
I understand why it is a reason to celebrate for Romanians and it makes sense for them for sure, but is never likely to be a celebration for Hungarians.
The embassy here in Singapore had an event where I hoped to eat some Romanian food, but unfortunately they did not have any this time. And I think it was not the most successful event (boring speeches, bad food, etc) but it was good to see some old friends and to catch up on what’s going on at home. And the room was nicely decorated, this ice thing was really really cool.
I understand why it is a reason to celebrate for Romanians and it makes sense for them for sure, but is never likely to be a celebration for Hungarians.
The embassy here in Singapore had an event where I hoped to eat some Romanian food, but unfortunately they did not have any this time. And I think it was not the most successful event (boring speeches, bad food, etc) but it was good to see some old friends and to catch up on what’s going on at home. And the room was nicely decorated, this ice thing was really really cool.
And some Romanian wine tasting:
Happy celebration my Romanian friends!
6 Comments:
A magyarajkuak nem unneplik december elsejet Romaniaban ..
By Anonymous, at 7:19 PM
Pixi, I still fail to see why each and every Hungarian from Romania would not celebrate December 1st as the national day.
I can understand why some Hungarians would not do it but for all practical reasons feeling that way can't lead to anything good.
Given the ethnic structure of the territory Hungary lost to Romania there were only 2 ways Hungary could have hold onto it:
1. Making the Romanians enjoy being part of Hungary. That solution would have required providing the Romanians whith the political and cultural rights which they did not have in 1918. And even in such conditions a "velvet separation" like that of Czech Republic and Slovakia might have happened at a later time.
2. Holding that territory by force. Austria-Hungary lost WW1 and the Soviet Republic of Hungary lost the 1919 Hungarian-Romanian War. Transylvania is not part of Romania because of the Trianon treaty. The Trianon Treaty simply stated the already existing situation: Hungary had lost the control of Transylvania more than one year before Trianon. In order to hold something by force one needs to have that force. The Soviet Republic of Hungary didn't have it in 1919.
There was also a 3rd way Hungary could have got that territory back, but this window of opportunity was closed when Romania joined NATO. Basically it would have required a massive uprising of the Hungarians in Transylvania, turning that uprising into another Kossovo and then having NATO intervene.
The main reason that opportunity was lost is the key ingredient for such uprising was missing. The Romanians were not opressing the Hungarians. Or if they were, they still didn't opress them hard enough to trigger an uprising :-)
Romania's EU membership would further mess up any prospect of future restauration of the ancient borders of the kingdom of Hungary. In case of "opression" the EU would intervene setting the things straight before the situation leads to an uprising.
Since the common people from the Hungarian minority have little if any undrstanding of why Hungary doesn't own Transylvania today, I doubt the majority of them spend too much time regretting December 1st. Those who do regret it and engage in "what if?" scenarios are some of the more educated members of that minority.
What surprises me is those unhappy about the current state of affairs let so many opportunities slip by for 13 long years (1990 -2002). March 15 1990 in Targu Mures was a good start. But as you know from direct AIESEC experience, it's the follow-up which counts more than the start.
Happy December 1st to you too!
By Anonymous, at 6:45 AM
I do not believe that at this point there is any use about discussing whether Transylvania should be part of Hungary or not. I think most of the Hungarians, except few stupid politicians are aware that things won't change back. And you said most of the reasons.
My point is that this national day is not celebrated by the Hungarians in Transylvania, therefore overall it is not engaging 7% of the country. This is a fact and more than that, it has a reverse effect. People remember all the time that once Transylvania was part of Hungary and it is leading to nationalistic agenda. It is a kind of slap in the face for Hungarians when they see each year the huge celebrations and the nationalistic speeches. This creates frustration and leads to nationalizm.
This is why I think the national day should be one that is engaging everybody (16th of dec for example)and is not leading to division in the society.
By pixi, at 9:26 AM
What I challenge is the accuracy of your perception that a lot of the Hungarians in Romania really care about the national day being December 1st.
On December 1st I had dinner in Sf. Gheorghe (I was on my way to Sovata, to the NPS). The center of the city was full of flags of Romania and some of the Hungarian speaking inhabitants were visibly drunk and in a good mood. It seems that when common people are given a holiday most of them would find their own private reasons to celebrate.
Every important event happens for a good reason and good reasons are never abstract. When in December 2004 the majority of the population in Hungary didn't bother to vote in favor of granting Hungarian citizenship to the Szekelys, for sure there were good reasons why that happened. Could that have been because when asked to chose between "repairing a historical injustice" and having the Szekelys competing with them on the labor market the Hungarians discovered they care less about the "historical injustice"?
In January 2006 I was returning from Budapest, where I had spent my New Year's Eve. The young lady sitting next to me was a Szekely from Gheorghieni, who had visited his brother working in Hungary as a manager in a major mobile phone company. She told me that her brother's perception was his Hungarian colleagues resented being his subordinates only because in their eyes he wasn't really Hungarian. She also told me that many Szekelys from Gheorghieni also felt unwelcomed in Hungary. While I cannot know for sure how that young lady spent this December 1st I'd bet she didn't wear mourning clothes.
My point is some people chose to see December 1st as a "slap in the face". If the date of the National Day of Romania would be changed to something else (like say June 21st, the summer solstice, the longest day of the year), Transylvania would still remain a part of Romania. People who are unhappy about that would be unhappy no matter what. Worse, they might also be unhapy when things like the 2004 referendum happens or when they discover their "brothers" don't greet them with open arms when they meet each other on the labor market.
Just recently the Hungarian government announced restrictions for the Romanian citizens intending to work in Hungary. While I'm not sure that people in Teleorman or Tulcea counties are too sad because of that I bet many in the Szekeyfold are. And I doubt the Hungarian government itself was worried about people from Braila looking for work in Hungary. Methinks it was people from Miercurea Ciuc they had in mind.
Contrast such attitude to that of the Romanian government which announced the re-opening of the offices for granting Romanian citizenship to the Moldovans starting with January 1st 2007. In mid November 2006, with the offices not yet opened, 400000 applications were already received.
And there is more: in summer 2006, when the Russians blocked the exports of Moldovan wine the Moldovan companies (most of them owned by ethnic Russians from Moldova, by the way) started to export their stuff to Romania. The Moldovan wine exports to Romania jumped from 0.6 million $ in 2005 to 25 million $ so far. The Romanian wine producers didn't like losing 25 million $ in sales and asked the government to increase the import taxes (when it comes to chosing between "brotherly solidarity" and "my own pocket" people behave surprisingly similar irrespective of their ethnic origin, isn't it?). The Romanian government did nothing to stop the import of Moldovan wine.
Since 1996 onwards the main Hungarian party in Romania was either part of the governing coalition or supporting it from outside the government (like from 2000 to 2004). I think the Hungarians in Romania are better served by being part of or associated with a government which understands what "national interest" really means. Because such government would not only support the reunification of Moldova and Romania but would also make sure the Szekelyfold is prosperous and therefore not prone to revolt.
In 1599 the overwhelming majority of the Szekelys sided with Michael the Brave against the Hungarian rulers of Transylvania. The Szekelys stayed with him even when his fortunes reversed. They, not the Wallachians, were making the bulk of his army and fought very well at Miraslau, when he was defeated. Then, just like today, many people discovered it was better to be associated with those who not only aim high but are also wiling to do what it takes in order to reach their goals.
One government funds Duna TV the other puts in place structures for granting citizenship to up to 3.4 million people. One government closes the labor market, the other one opens it and lets also the Moldovan wine in, helping people to preserve their jobs and to put bread on the table for their children at home. I'd say chosing whom to side with today is as simple as chosing between Michael the Brave and the Bathory cousins 400 years ago.
The Szekelys are hard working, disciplined and self-reliant. If the Hungarians don't want them that's Hungary's loss. Romania is a bigger and richer country offering more opportunities. The new villas and small hotels I saw popping up all over the Szekelyfold seem to prove Szekelys' future is brighter in Romania than elswhere. Why feel sad about December 1st then?
By Anonymous, at 8:53 PM
I think that there are always exceptions form the general majority, not everybody will feel the same. However picking exceptions to deny the feeling of the majority, well, I don't think that it is fair or leads to something.
Yes there are exceptions and yes there are Hungarians who do not feel the same. I am sure that there are Romanians as well who would say that it would be better if it would be Transylvania part of Hungary, and so on. The same with your examples from history, I think they are rather excceptions :)
My experience and from the region I come from, the feeling is the one I have described.
Geta once gave me a good book about the Hystory of Transilvania (you can find it in the bookstores in Romania, in romanian language) and I managed to find now both the English and Romanian version. Here it is, I think this gives a brief but still complete history of this region and it is not written by a Romanian or Hungarian:
English version:
http://www.hungarian-history.hu/lib/dunay3/dunay3.pdf
Romanian version:
http://www.hungarian-history.hu/lib/dunay2/dunay2.doc
By pixi, at 2:48 PM
He, he, good old Alain Du Nay! I'm well acquainted with his "works" since 1999. He's a darling of all those unhappy with the current borders. The main problem with that guy is a simple googling would reveal his "scholarity" and who exactly is publishing his brochures.
Besides, as I was saying, whoever is unhappy with the current National Day won't be happier with another date instead of December 1st. The reason is obvious: no matter when the National Day is, the borders would stay the same. Therefore such people would continue to be sad till the day they die. Unless of course they come to realise the future is more important than the past because it's there we're all going to spend our lives.
By Mihail, at 10:48 PM
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