The Unseen Face of a National Holiday from the Establishment of Greater Romania

The present study sheds light on the preparations for the anniversary of the first centenary of Avram Iancu’s birth, which occurred 100 years prior. The projects announced on that occasion, the key individuals involved, and how the government authorities at that time handled the preparations for the event were all taken into account. New information from archival sources was presented and analyzed for the first time, leading to the formulation of a series of key ideas and the measures that were ultimately implemented. The cultural and ideological stakes of the national holiday were not overlooked: the aim was to foster unity and solidity in the Romanian nation, which had, in fact, been reunited relatively recently within the borders of a single national state.