Low Sunday and May 9 are commemoration holidays. It is important to observe the Christian holidays, either we are faithful, agnostic or atheist. Low Sunday has its origins in paganism and the Christians assimilated this tradition. It is a very important holiday that should be celebrated inside the family and at the cemetery. May 9 commemorates those who died and it is also a start for a united Europe that says that the war should never repeat, Igor Boțan, the standing expert of IPN’s project, stated in a public debate staged by IPN News Agency.
Igor Boțan noted that in accordance with the Labor Code, May 9 is the Victory Day and the day of remembrance for the heroes killed in the war for the independence of the motherland. The fact that these two holidays come one after another is a coincidence. What is common for them is the fact that they are commemoration holidays. When we remember the dead on Low Sunday, we also remember those who died in World War II. Before we remember the dead, we clean up the places in cemeteries and this is something positive. But what is more important is to pray for the forgiveness of the sins that these people committed in their life.
“The allies won World War II. The UK since September 1940 had fought alone after France suffered a defeat against Nazi Germany. Nazis’ air raids that started in August 1940 and that initially obeyed the rules of a war became absolutely barbarous after September 1940. After Poland attacked on behalf of the Nazis, the Soviet Union attacked Poland in two weeks and we know what happened later to the Baltic states, Bessarabia, the war against Finland and we remember that the head of the Soviet government Molotov was in Berlin and discussed the division of the world with the leader of the Nazis and for the first time he saw what a riposte by the British aviation against the Berlin meant. When we commemorate the victims of World War II, we remember all these things. We also remember the involvement of the United States that opposed up to the last moment, until the events at Pearl Harbor. The whole war in the Pacific was led by the United States. We can tell those who consider themselves exclusivists and demand that the whole mankind should thank them for their contribution to scoring the victory that we realize their significant contribution, but being exclusivist means ignoring the contribution of the other partners and this is very dangerous,” stated Igor Boțan.
He also said that the lessons learned from this victory over fascism led to reconciliation in Europe. “I went to Paris and saw history textbooks that are mandatory or recommended, written together with German and French historians as a common contribution to prevent the repeat of those horrors. They said this way: the contribution made by the Jewish-Christian civilization the past half a millennium is fundamental. This kind of wars should be stopped. Reconciliation is the solution. May 9 is a start for a united Europe that says that the war should never repeat,” said the standing expert of IPN’s project.
The public debate titled “Significance of Low Sunday and May 9: Affinities, dissimilarities and specific features in times of war” was the 242th installment of IPN’s project “Developing Political Culture through Public Debates” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
