Reasons to Celebrate

This is one of the better (and strangest) reasons to celebrate I've heard of. In Moldova today, we are celebrating Limba Noastra, or Language Day. What exactly are we celebrating? Well, under Russian and USSR rule, the Cyrillic alphabet was used in Moldova. So today we celebrate the fact that in Moldova now people can speak Romanian and use the Latin alphabet instead of the Cyrillic one! So now I know why there is a 31 August 1989 Street in Chisinau!

By the way, the topic of language is so important in Moldova that the national anthem is about Limba Noastra. The lyrics (see the translation) are pretty moving. If you want to be moved some more, click the links at the right to read the other anthems Moldova has had to get a sense of the history of the country.

By the way again, this is the second holiday this week - on Monday it was Moldovan Independence Day. I hear from people who have lives - I mean, who don't have a baby - that the celebrations were quite festive, with traditional dancing and good food and great fireworks. It was Moldova's Sweet Sixteen this year. I haven't seen 27 August Street in Chisinau, come to think of it...