Romania Troops March in National Day Parade

President Traian Basescu watched the big military parade in the capital, while elsewhere in the country, people attended events commemorating the Romanians who died during the First World War.

In recent years, city halls have been organising concerts to celebrate the day, turning this more into a popular celebration.

Incoming President Klaus Iohannis attended ceremonies in Alba Iulia in southern Transylvania. Alba Iulia is the city where a huge rally was held on on December 1, 1918, to mark the moment when the territories of Transylvania, Bessarabia (now in Moldova) and Bukovina (now in Ukraine) joined the Kingdom of Romania.

For the Romanian people, the year 1918 represents the triumph of the national ideal after a long struggle for achieving a national unitary state.

However, Unification Day, as it is also known provokes fierce debate to this day.

Though Romania's hegemony over Transylvania is not now questioned by anyone except the most fervent Hungarian nationalists, the manner in which the Hungarian minority of the region has often been treated and the question of their right to self-determination remain political issues even today.

These lands were awarded to Romania after Hungary was carved up at the end of the World War I, following its defeat.