Public holidays in the Republic of Moldova refer to the celebrated non-working days established by the Government of Moldova and valid for the whole territory of the country. Autonomous territorial units Gagauzia and Transnistria, as well cities, communes and cantonal authorities also establish local holidays, which are, however, not non-working days. There are 14 nationally celebrated holidays in the modern Moldova. Most holidays celebrated in the Republic of Moldova recognize events or people from Moldovan history. Most retail businesses close on New Year's and Independence Day, but remain open on all other holidays. Private businesses often observe only the big holidays such as the New Year's Day, Easter Monday, Victory Day, Independence Day, Labour Day, Romanian Language Day and Christmas.
The holiday season in the winter traditionally ran between New Year's Day until Old new Year's Day. As of 2009, the holiday season now officially begins with Western Christmas on 25 December, now a legal holiday in the Republic of Moldova. The holiday seasons gets underway much earlier with the official lighting of the capital city Chișinău's Christmas tree at the end of November or very beginning of December, when other than Christmas, some locals celebrate Winter solstice, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. The Summer holiday season traditionally (though unofficially) starts in May with celebrations of anniversary of most important localities (Bălți, 22 May) and culminates in the end of August with the celebrations of the Independence Day and the National Language Day.
These holidays are designated by the Government of the Republic of Moldova, in accordance with the legislation of the country.IT
Date | Official name | Remarks |
---|---|---|
1 January | New Year's Day | Celebrates beginning of the Gregorian calendar year. Festivities include counting down to midnight (12:00 AM) on the preceding night, New Year's Eve. Traditional beginning of holiday season. |
7-8 January | Orthodox Christmas | |
8 March | International Women's Day | |
April/May | Orthodox Easter | |
April/May | Easter of Blajini | |
1 May | Labour Day | |
9 May | Victory Day | It commemorates Victory in Europe Day. [1] |
1 June | Children's Day | It commemorates the Children's Day. |
27 August | Independence Day | It commemorates the founding of the Declaration of Independence of Moldova. |
31 August | National Language Day | It commemorates the national language of Moldova, the Romanian language. |
25 December | Christmas Day | |
In addition to the holidays, mentioned above, the following days are observed:
Date | Official name | Notes |
---|---|---|
15 February | Afghan War Veterans Day | It commemorates the end of the Soviet–Afghan War. [2] |
27 April | Flag Day | It commemorates the adoption of the Moldovan flag. [3] |
10 June | Border Guards Day | It commemorates the founding of the Moldovan Border Police. |
23 June | Sovereignty Day | It commemorates the founding of the Declaration of Sovereignty of Moldova. |
29 July | Constitution Day | It commemorates the adoption of the Constitution of Moldova. |
24 August | Liberation Day | It celebrates the end of the Second Jassy–Kishinev offensive. It is also celebrated in neighboring Romania as the Liberation from Fascist Occupation Day. |
3 September | National Army Day | It commemorates the founding of the Moldovan Armed Forces. |
8 October | National Wine Day | It commemorates the production of Moldovan wine. |
18 December | Police Day | It commemorates the founding of the Moldovan Police Forces |
In addition to the national holidays, cities, communes and cantonal authorities observe the following holidays:
Date | Official name | Remarks |
---|---|---|
22 May | Bălți Day | Public holiday just for Bălți |
28 June | Gagauzia Liberation Day [4] | Public holiday just for Gagauzia. |
14 October | Capital's Day | Public holiday just for Chișinău. |
21 November | Cahul Day | Public holiday just for Cahul. |
A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. Public holidays are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often also observed as public holidays in religious majority countries. Some religious holidays, such as Christmas, have become secularised by part or all of those who observe them. In addition to secularisation, many holidays have become commercialised due to the growth of industry.
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, 1 January. Most solar calendars begin the year regularly at or near the northern winter solstice, while cultures and religions that observe a lunisolar or lunar calendar celebrate their Lunar New Year at less fixed points relative to the solar year.
Victory Day is a holiday that commemorates the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany in 1945. It was first inaugurated in the 15 republics of the Soviet Union following the signing of the German Instrument of Surrender late in the evening on 8 May 1945. The Soviet government announced the victory early on 9 May after the signing ceremony in Berlin. Although the official inauguration occurred in 1945, the holiday became a non-labor day only in 1965.
Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a landlocked breakaway state internationally recognized as part of Moldova. It controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester river and the Moldova–Ukraine border, as well as some land on the other side of the river's bank. Its capital and largest city is Tiraspol. Transnistria is officially designated by the Republic of Moldova as the Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester or as Stînga Nistrului.
In the United States, public holidays are set by federal, state, and local governments and are often observed by closing government offices or giving government employees paid time off. The federal government does not require private businesses to close or offer paid time off, as is the case for most state and local governments, so employers determine which holidays to observe.
The following is a list of public holidays in Romania. According to Romanian law, Romania had 15 public holidays as of 2011, which cover 14% of the days of the year in the country.
An Armed Forces Day, alongside its branch-specific variants often referred to as Army or Soldier's Day, Navy or Sailor's Day, and Air Force or Aviator's Day, is a holiday dedicated to honoring the armed forces, or one of their branches, of a sovereign state, including their personnel, history, achievements, and perceived sacrifices. It's often patriotic or nationalistic in nature, carrying propaganda value outside of the conventional boundaries of a military's subculture and into the wider civilian society. Many nations around the world observe this day. It is usually distinct from a Veterans or Memorial Day, as the former is dedicated to those who previously served and the latter is dedicated to those who perished in the fulfillment of their duties.
The observance of Christmas around the world varies by country. The day of Christmas, and in some cases the day before and the day after, are recognized by many national governments and cultures worldwide, including in areas where Christianity is a minority religion. In some non-Christian areas, periods of former colonial rule introduced the celebration ; in others, Christian minorities or foreign cultural influences have led populations to observe the holiday.
The Transnistria War was an armed conflict that broke out on 2 November 1990 in Dubăsari between pro-Transnistria forces, including the Transnistrian Republican Guard, militia and neo-Cossack units, which were supported by elements of the Russian 14th Army, and pro-Moldovan forces, including Moldovan troops and police.
The Old New Year, the Orthodox New Year, also known as Ra's as-Sanah or Ras el-Seni in the Middle East, is an informal traditional holiday, celebrated as the start of the New Year by the Julian calendar. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the Old New Year falls on January 14 in the Gregorian calendar.
The Transnistria conflict is an ongoing frozen conflict between Moldova and the unrecognized state of Transnistria. Its most active phase was the Transnistria War. There have been several unsuccessful attempts to resolve the conflict. The conflict may be considered to have started on 2 September 1990, when Transnistria made a formal sovereignty declaration from Moldova.
The Christmas season or the festive season; also known as the holiday season or the holidays, is an annual period generally spanning from November or December to early January. Incorporating Christmas Day and New Year's Day, the various celebrations during this time create a peak season for the retail sector extending to the end of the period. Christmas window displays and Christmas tree lighting ceremonies are customary traditions in various locales.
Bayram is the Turkic word for a nationally-celebrated festival or holiday, applicable to both national and religious celebrations.
The Independence Day is the national day of Moldova commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence from the Soviet Union on 27 August 1991.
Christmas in Romania is a major annual celebration, celebrated on 24/25 of December, as in most countries of the Christian world. The observance of Christmas was introduced once with the Christianization of Romania but public observance was discouraged during the Communist period (1948–1989). In post-communist Romania, Christmas started being celebrated again more festively.
Republic Day also known in the West as Independence Day or National Day is the main state holiday in the self-proclaimed republic of Transnistria. This date is celebrated annually on September 2.
The Day of the Liberation of Moldova from Fascist Occupation is a public holiday celebrated annually in Moldova to commemorates the anniversary of the allied victory in the Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive during World War II. It is celebrated on 24 August and is also associated with the former Liberation from Fascist Occupation Day and the present day European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism in Romania. It is used to commemorate Moldova's role in the defeat of from Nazi Germany in 1945. It is also recognized by the internationally unrecognized Transnistria.
The Romanian Language Day is a holiday in Romania and Moldova celebrated every 31 August for the Romanian language. Romanian is a Romance language, being part of the same linguistic family as the French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish languages.
The Day of the Union of Bessarabia with Romania is a holiday of Romania celebrated every 27 March to commemorate the union of Bessarabia with Romania on 27 March 1918. Bessarabia is a Romanian historical region that was part of the Principality of Moldavia, which united with Wallachia to form modern Romania. The region was annexed in 1812 by the Russian Empire, but it became independent and united with Romania on 27 March 1918.