Great Union Day is a national holiday in Romania, celebrated on 1 December, marking the unification of Transylvania, Bessarabia, and Bukovina with the Romanian Kingdom in 1918. On 22 January 1862 (O.S., 3 February N.S.), the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia formally united to create the Romanian United Principalities, the core of the Romanian nation state.[2][3] In 1866 a new constitution came into effect, giving the country the name of Romania. The new state remained nominally a vassal of the Ottoman Empire. However, by this time the suzerainity of the Sublime Porte had become a legal fiction. Romania had its own flag and anthem, and conducted its own foreign policy. From 1867, it had its own currency as well. On 9 May 1877 (O.S., 21 May N.S.), Romania proclaimed itself fully independent, and on 14 March 1881 (O.S., 26 March N.S.), it became the Kingdom of Romania. After the First World War, Transylvania and other territories were also included. Today it is known as 'Ziua Marii Uniri' and may also be known as Unification Day or 1918 Union Day. Great Union Day is marked by a large military parade in the capital, Bucharest. Speeches will be made in Bucharest and Alba Iulia, where the declaration of the union was first read out. Elsewhere, local events will remember the Romanians who lost their lives in World War I.
To commemorate the centenary of Great Union Day, 4807 people gathered to recreate the silhouette of Romania in Alba Iulia on September 29th 2018, making it the Largest human image of a country/ continent ever as ratified by Guinness World Records.
