Poets, writers, politicians, ordinary people, students and kindergarten children on January 15 laid flowers at the bust of Mihai Eminescu on the Classics Alley in the central park of Chisinau. On the 170th anniversary of the poet’s birth, those attending gave speeches, sang songs on verses written by Mihai Eminescu and recited his poems.
Linguist Vlad Pohilă stated for IPN that Mihai Eminescu was a thinker, a cultured man. That’s why Constantin Noica named him the complete man of Romanian culture. “During the years of persecution, when the Romanian language and Romanian culture were suppressed, Eminescu held us up, strengthened us, gave us force and continues to give us hope now that the time is not the best and most pleasant one,” stated Vlad Pohilă.
Margareta Cemîrtan, an inhabitant of Chisinau, told IPN that being deported to Siberia, she didn’t manage to study Eminescu well, but from the poet’s works she read she can say that the bard didn’t die. The poet is read at school and kindergarten. “So, as long as our Romanian country exists, our misunderstood genius Mihai Eminescu will continue to live,” she stated.
Poet and journalist Ecaterina Iurcu said Mihai Eminescu is a prophet of the nation. “Eminescu was the one who represented us in the large kingdom of universal culture,” she stated.
In the morning of January 15, flowers at Mihai Eminescu’s bust were laid by President Igor Dodon, Parliament Speaker Zinaida Grechanyi, Prime Minister Ion Chicu, Mayor of Chisinau Ion Ceban, Minister of Education, Culture and Research Corneliu Popovici and other officials.
The National Day of Culture celebrated in Moldova on January 15 was instituted by a Parliament Decision of April 12, 2012 to promote national culture, authentic cultural values and artistic personalities from the field of culture. “Celebrated differently in different countries, the National Day of Culture in the Republic of Moldova is devoted to the birthday of the great poet Mihai Eminescu, a personality who defined the essential values of the national culture,” the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research said in a press release.
