WHY WEREN’T THE OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS OF THE INTER-WAR PERIOD A REASON OF JOY FOR ALL THE ROMANIANS?
WHY WEREN’T THE OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS OF THE INTER-WAR PERIOD A REASON OF JOY FOR ALL THE ROMANIANS?

Summary/Abstract: The current article brings into focus a less-known topic in the history of Romanian inter-war period but which generated not only intensive debates but tensions inside the Transylvanian society as well, such as: the question of participation of the state officials and local officials at the religious services, at the national holidays. The text highlights the high expectations that the Romanians from Transylvania had when they had declared the union of territories inhabited by them in Hungary with Romania and the contribution of the two Romanian Churches from Transylvania on officializing the Romanian power in the province after the war. Emphasis is put on the interest of the Greek-Catholic Church after 1918 to obtain equal rights with the Orthodox Church and the relative success of this purpose, and then attitude of neglect from civil and military authorities of the state against the Greek-Catholic Church is analysed, during official holidays and not only. The reaction of the Greek-Catholic hierarchy was thorough in this regard from the beginning, condemning the discriminatory and offensive behavior to which it was subjected. The regulations concerning the official holidays in the inter-war period are analysed, the manner in which they were applied locally, the interventions carried out by the Greek-Catholic hierarchy to the decisional political factors, but also the fact that in the middle of the fourth decade of the last century the problem hadn't been solved in a way that would entirely please the Uniate Church.

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