Everybody loves holidays. They are a welcome break from the drudgery of daily chores and busy work schedules. Holidays are when you get the time to refresh and revitalize your system, enjoy a quiet period of rest or indulge in a hobby, get on with that unfinished job at home or just have a nice time with your near and dear ones. That is what the Romanians do on their holidays listed below.

Now public holidays are not exactly like weekends. For one thing, they can fall bang in the middle of a week. However, they are not enjoyed by everyone. People, employed with certain public services, like the police, hospitals, municipalities, public transport etc and factories that have a continuous production process cannot be on leave en masse on these holidays. Such people are offered compensatory leave subsequently to be availed within a certain period of time.

The Work Code in Romania specifies the following holidays at present. The 1st and 2nd of January are holidays on account of the New Year. Easter Holidays can be in either April or May depending on your religious requirement.

The 1st of May is observed as the International Workers' Day. Again, the 1st of December commemorates the unification of Transylvania with the Kingdom of Romania leading to the formation of modern Romania in 1918. It is celebrated as the National Day of Romania. The Christmas is celebrated with spirit on the 25th and 26th of December.

The 24th of January commemorates the unification of Moldavia and Walachia, a very important occasion in the history of evolution of Romania as a nation state under the leadership of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as the leader of both the provinces.

Another special day in the Romanian calendar is the Women's Day, which is on March 8th. On that day children convey their love for their mothers; students for their female teachers. Husbands make it a point to bring flowers and shower gifts on their wives. It is also a day, when women celebrate by throwing an all girls' party among themselves.

In Romania, heroes who fought in different armed conflicts are celebrated on Ascension Day and on June 1 it is celebrated Children's day. On this occasion children take part in different competitions, like drawing contests or sport competitions corresponding to their ages. The national flag's day is celebrated on the 26 of June. By the way, the colours of the Romanian flag are red, yellow and blue. Red stands for the blood spilled by heroes, yellow stands for the rich summer crops and blue stands for hope in a better destiny.

June 29 is Romanian national anthem day. This solemn song is sung on the lyrics written by a Romanian poet and its title "Desteapta-te, romane!" can be translated as "Romanians, fight for your rights!" On December 8, they celebrate Constitution Day, in the memory of the day when the current constitution was adopted in 1991.

Finally, there are two holidays, which are very special for the youth of the country. The first is known as Dragobetele and is like the Valentine's Day. No wonder it is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm in Romania. The second one is a very special day, observed on the 1st of March. On this date the male population of Romania, including its children, gives small lucky charms as gifts to their loved ones. Actually, the gifts are meant for girls and women only.