Two more Church feasts are set to become public holidays in Romania starting next year.
A draft law calling for January 6, the feast of the Theophany of the Lord, and the next day, the Synaxis of St. John the Baptist, to become state-recognised holidays easily passed through both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies earlier this month.
The project passed both chambers of the Parliament and will now go to the president for promulgation. If signed into law by the president, these days off will be added starting in 2024.
According to census figures from 2011, 86.45% of Romanians are Orthodox Christians, as noted by the legislation’s proponents.
“The feast of the Baptism of the Lord … is unique in that on this day most of the Orthodox faithful are present in church to receive Holy Communion, in the Orthodox tradition,” the legislators write. They also highlight the Great Blessing of Water as a unique aspect of Theophany.
Roman Catholics, Greek Catholics, and Pentecostals, who comprise another 7.34% of the Romanian population, also celebrate the feast. For those who celebrate according to the old calendar, the initiators explain that January 7 is the feast of the Nativity of the Lord.
“For these reasons, several European countries, such as Belarus, Greece, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, and Cyprus, have regulated January 7 as a public holiday in which no work is done. In this context, given the religious importance of January 7, we consider it necessary to declare it as a legal holiday in which no work is done.”
Photo source: romanialibera.ro
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