November 30, 2017

Romanians celebrate St. Apostle Andrew, their country's patron saint

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Newsroom, 30.11.2017, 14:05

CELEBRATIONS – Romanians have todays started a four-day mini-holiday occasioned by St. Andrews’ Day, the patron saint of Romania, followed by Romania’s National Day, on December 1st. Most Romanians have chosen local destinations to spend these days off from work, their favourites being the resorts on the Prahova Valley, in the Southern Carpathians, Bukovina, in the north as well as spas and treatment resorts. The average budget allocated for this travels across the country stands at some 170 Euros per person. Romanians spending their mini-holiday abroad will however spend around 320 Euros per person. Celebrated by both the Romanians living in the country and abroad, December 1st, the National Day of Romania, is, as every year, a moment of joy. The highlight of the day is the traditional military parade in Bucharest. The approximately 3,500 Romanian military, accompanied by 50 aircraft and over 300 fighting vehicles will parade in Romania’s capital city. 300 other troops from allied and partner countries will also join the parade.

VISAS – The Romanian Foreign Ministry recalls that, as of December 1st, Romanian citizens will be able to travel to Canada visa free, for periods of maximum 6 months, for tourist purposes. Those who intend to travel by plane will have to first get an Electronic Travel Authorization — eTA. The others will only have to have a valid passport. The Romanian Foreign Ministry hails the decision made by the Canadian authorities to liberalize the visa regime for the Romanian citizens, the outcome of years of diplomatic cooperation, also with the participation of the European Commission.

ST. ANDREW’S DAY — Orthodox, Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic believers from all over the world, Romania included, are today celebrating St. Apostle Andrew. He is the first of Jesus Christ’s apostles who preached Christianity in the south of Romania. This way Saint Andrew is also considered the patron saint of the country. Saint Andrew preached in Dobruja and in today’s Ukrainian territory, in Great Scythia, and then in Byzantium. He then went to Greece and preached the Gospel, going up to Patras town where he died a martyr’s death. He was crucified on an X-shaped cross. Over 700 thousand Romanians named after St. Andrew celebrate their name day today.

WARNING – The United States has urged all countries to sever economic and diplomatic ties with North Korea. Speaking at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss North Korea’s latest missile launch, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley warned Pyongyang that the regime will be “utterly destroyed” if a standoff over missile tests leads to war. She also said Pyongyang had brought the world closer to war with its latest test of a ballistic missile capable of striking the U.S. mainland. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has firmly condemned North Korea’s new nuclear test, saying it is a new serious threat to regional and international peace and security and a blatant violation of the UN Security Council resolutions.

BUDGET – Romania’s state budget for next year is built on a 5.5% economic growth rate, down from this year’s 6.1% forecast, reads a Report on the macroeconomic situation and its projection for the 2019-2021 period, made public by the Finance Ministry. The domestic demand will be the engine for economic growth. The document also says that economic activity in all sectors will improve, while the budget deficit will stand at 2.97% of the GDP. The annual average inflation rate considered when drafting the 2018 budget is 3.1% and the exchange rate is 4.55 lei for one euro. Also, a 4.2% increase in the number of employees is expected, at the same time with a decrease in the unemployment rate, which is expected to stand at 3.9% at the end of next year.

HANDBALL – As of December 1st, Germany will be hosting the World Women’s Handball Championship. Romania is part of Group A, alongside France, Spain, Slovenia, Angola and Paraguay. On December 2nd, in their first match, the Romanian squad will take on the team of Paraguay. At the previous World Championship, in 2015, Romania won bronze. The Romanian team is the only team to have participated in all the 22 editions of the World Championship held so far.

(Translated by Elena Enache)