Ioana Pârvulescu - Life Begins on Friday

Epiphany — 6 January

St John — 7 January

The Triodyon begins — 2 February

Meatfare Sunday — 16 February

Cheesefare Sunday — 23 February

Palm Sunday — 6 April

Easter — 13 AprilQ

St George — 23 April

Forty Martyrs — 7 May

Sts Constantine and Elena — 21 May

Ascension — 22 May

Whitsuntide — 1 June

Beginning of the fast Sts Peter and Paul — 8 June

Sts Peter and Paul the Apostles — 28 June

Dormition of the Theotokos — 15 August

Holy Cross — 14 September

St Demetrios — 26 October

Archangels Michael and Gabriel — 8 November

St Nicholas — 6 December

Christmas — 25 December

St Stephen — 27 December

The Catholic Calendar

Septuagesima — 2 February (14 February)

Mardi Gras — 18 February (2 March)

Ash Wednesday — 19 February (3 March)

Easter — 6 April (18 April)

Ascension — 15 May (27 May)

Whitsun — 25 May (6 June)

Holy Trinity — 1 June (13 June)

Green Thursday — 5 June (17 June)

Advent Sunday — 16 November (28 November)

Christmas — 25 December (6 January)

Hebrew Calendar

5657— 1897

Adar

1 — 22 January

14 Little Purim — 4 February

Be Adar

1 — 21 February

13 Fast of Esther — 5 March

14 *Purim — 6 March

15 Susan Purim — 7 March

Nisan

1 — 22 March

15 *Passover 1–4 April

16 *Passover 2–5 April

21 *Passover 7 — 11 April

22 *Passover 8 — 12 April

Iyar

1 — 21 April

18 Lag Ba’omer — 3 May

Sivan

1 — 20 May

6 Shavuot — 25 May

7 Second holiday — 26 May

Thamuz

1 — 19 June

18 *Destruction of theTemple fast — 6 June

Av

1 — 17 July

10 Burning of the Temple fast — 27 July

Elul

1 — 17 August

5658

Tishrei

1 *New Year — 15 September

2 *Rosh Hashanah — 16 September

4 *Tzom Gedaliah — 18 September

10 *Yom Kippur — 22 September

15 *Sukkot — 26 September

16 *Second day of Sukkot — 27 September

21 *Hoshanah Rabbah — 5 October

22 *Shemini Atzeret — 6 October

28 *Reception of the Law — 7 October

Marchesvan

1 — 15 October

Kislev

1 — 24 November

25 *Hanukkah — 8 December

Tevet

1 — 14 December

10 *Asara be Tevet — 23 December

Shevat

1 — 12 December

The holidays marked * are to be kept strictly.

The Muslim Calendar

1314

1 Ramadan — 22 January 1897

1 Shawwâl — 21 February

1 Dhû al-Qa’dah — 22 March

1 Dhû al-Ḥijjah — 21 April

1315

1 Muḥarram — 21 May

1 Ṣafar — 20 June

1 Rabī‘ al-awwal — 19 July

1 Rabī‘ al-thānī — 18 August

1 Jumādá al-ūlá — 16 September

1 Jumādá al-ākhira — 16 October

1 Rajab — 14 November

1 Sha‘bāan — 12 December

National and Royal Holidays

11 February, the anniversary of the revolution 1866, which founded Romania’s royal dynasty.

14 March, the proclamation of the King of Romania in 1881.

8 April, the birthday of H.M. the King and the proclamation of the plebiscite for the election of His Highness.

24 April, the name day of H.M. Queen Elisabeta.

1, 8 and 10 May, the election, arrival in Romania and enthronement of H.M. the King in 1866.

10 May, the proclamation of Romania’s Independence in 1877 and the coronation of the first King of Romania in 1881.

11 June, the anniversary of the 1848 Revolution, when the foundations of Romania’s autonomy were laid.

22 July, St Mary Magdalene, name day of H.R.H. Princess Maria.

12 August, the birthday of H.R.H. the Crown Prince Ferdinand.

3 October, the anniversary of H.R.H. Prince Carol of Romania.

17 December, the anniversary of H.M. the Queen.

Chronology

The creation of the world, Julian Calendar — 7384 years ago

The creation of the world, Gregorian Calendar — 5990

The foundation of Rome — 2852

The foundation of Jassy — 620

The foundation of Bucharest — 613

The fall of Constantinople — 444

The death of Stephen the Great, Prince of Moldavia — 393

The first printed books in the Romanian language — 328

The first confiscation of Bessarabia — 85

The Great Fire of Bucharest — 50

The 11 June 1848 European and Romanian Revolution — 49

The Union of the Principalities — 38

The Emancipation of the Serfs — 33

The enthronement of H.M. Carol — 31

The inauguration of the first Romanian railway line — 28

The International Postal Union — 22

The Proclamation of Romania’s Independence — 20

The second confiscation of Bessarabia — 19

Romania’s annexation of Dobrudja — 19

The proclamation of the Kingdom of Romania — 16

The introduction of electric lighting to Romania — 14

Eclipses

Two full solar eclipses, which will not be visible in Europe. No lunar eclipses.

The first full solar eclipse occurs on 19 February (1 February): darkness begins at 23 minutes past seven in the evening. The eclipse ends at 9 minutes past one in the morning. It is visible in Central America, South America apart from the eastern and southern tip of Cape Horn, the east coast of Argentina and the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean, and also in south-east Australia. The second full solar eclipse will occur on 17 (29) July. Darkness begins at two minutes past three in the afternoon. The eclipse ends at 52 minutes past 8 in the evening. It will be visible on the west coast of Africa, in the tropics of the Atlantic Ocean, in the south of North America, in Central America, and in the north of South America.

The year’s regent — Mars, god of war, of upheavals, and of human pairings. During the course of this year there will be many phenomenal accidents. Children born in the course of the year will be hot-headed and fractious; the boys will be bold, quarrelsome, bellicose, insubordinate, and independent; the girls will be beautiful, clever, industrious, dutiful and devoted, but also bad, cantankerous, irascible.

The members of the Holy Synodwho sat in judgement over the former Metropolitan of Hungro-Wallachia Ghenadie Petrescu in May 1896.

Bishops: 1. Ghenadie Bishop of Râmnic, 2. Partenie Bishop of the Lower Danube, 3. Iosif Metropolitan of Moldavia, 4. Gherasim Timuș of Bishop Argeș, 5. Silvestru Bishop of Huși, 6. Archbishop Ioanichie Flor of Bacău, 7. Dionisie Climescu Bihsop of Buzău, 8. Ieronim Bishop of Roman, 9 Archbishop Calistrat Orleanu of Bârlad, 10 Archbishop Valerian of Râmnic, 11. Archbishop Dosoftei of Botoșani, 12. Archbishop Pimen Georgescu of Pitești, 13. Archbishop Athanasie Miron of Craiova, 14. Archbishop Meletie of Galați, 15. Archbishop Nifon of Ploiești.

The Government

Between 1895 and 1899 Romania had a Liberal Government. In December 1897 the structure of the Government was as follows:

The President of the Council of Ministers: Dimitrie A. Sturdza

The Minister of the Interior: Mihail Pherekyde

The Minister of Foreign Affairs: Dimitrie A. Sturdza

The Minister of Finance: George D. Pallade

The Minister of Justice: Alexandru G. Djuvara

The Minister of Religions and Education: Spiru Haret

The Minister of War: General Anton Berindei