The Romanian Heritage Center, known as the “Romanian Origins Cultural Center,” announces the first edition of a new annual event: the Romanian Book Symposium in Chicago

A cultural event dedicated to books, authors, and the Romanian language, celebrating ROMANIAN LANGUAGE DAY

On the occasion of Romanian Language Day, the Romanian Heritage Center is organizing and hosting a celebration dedicated to the Romanian language, books, and culture, intended to bring together book lovers and authors of Romanian-language volumes from the Romanian community in the United States.

Unlike a simple book fair, where the emphasis is primarily on displaying and selling books, this symposium will focus first and foremost on author presentations, lectures, and dialogue with readers and lovers of Romanian books. The event is intended not only for writers, teachers, historians, literary critics, and librarians, but especially for everyone who has a passion for reading in the Romanian language.

WEDNESDAY, September 2, 2026
Time: 6:30 PM
Romanian Heritage Center
81 N. Broadway Street, Des Plaines, IL 60016

SEATING IS LIMITED!
Advance reservations are required.
Please send a text message with your name to:
(708) 243-2727

FREE ADMISSION – AMPLE FREE PARKING (behind the building)

Organizing Partner

The event is organized in partnership with the Institute for Diplomacy and Cultural Exchange — “A platform for diplomacy, dialogue, and cultural exchange connecting communities, professionals, and global perspectives.”

This partnership takes place in a year of special significance for the celebration of the Romanian language, and we are honored to welcome the participation and a special anniversary address by the distinguished Ms. Elena Lungu, a career diplomat with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova.

Partners, Special Guests, and Authors

We are honored by the collaboration and participation in this event of diplomatic representatives from the three countries that officially celebrate Romanian Language Day: Romania, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine:

• H.E. Lucian-Ilie Stănică, Consulate General of Romania in Chicago
• H.E. Anton Lungu, Consulate General of the Republic of Moldova in Chicago
• H.E. Kostiantyn Vorona, Consulate General of Ukraine in Chicago

Presenters:

• Prof. Simona J. Bonica
• Adriana Munteanu-Obreja

As part of the program dedicated to Romanian books, we have the joy and privilege of presenting and celebrating the work of a remarkable group of Romanian-American authors, whose volumes cover a rich diversity of genres and subjects:

• Mr. Marius Alexandru – poetry
• Prof. Cristian Petru Bălan – essays, poetry, and theater
• Rev. Daniel Chiu – poetry and spirituality
• Rev. Cristian Ionescu – theology
• Rev. Deliu-Zaharie Ionuț – poetry
• Rev. Iosif Cohen Isfan – autobiography and memoir
• Dr. Ilie Oprea (in memoriam) – poetry and spirituality
• Rev. Cornel Petrișor – autobiography and memoir
• Rev. Ioan Sinitean – theology
• Rev. Fr. Petru Stînea – history, chronicle, and religion
• Mrs. Lavinia Tomescu – poetry
• Rev. Ilie U. Tomuța – essays and meditations

A Symposium Paying Tribute to the Romanian Language

Organized on the occasion of Romanian Language Day, this first Romanian Book Symposium in Chicago seeks to pay tribute to the Romanian language through one of the most enduring forms of its existence: THE ROMANIAN BOOK.

Within the pages of books, our language preserves its memory, tells its stories, passes on its values, and unites generations beyond time and borders.

It is therefore no coincidence that we are inaugurating this symposium on a day dedicated to the Romanian language. We hope it will become a meeting place for authors, books, and readers, while also serving as an expression of our responsibility to keep the Romanian language alive, cultivated, and loved, especially here, far from our homeland.

On this occasion, participants will have the opportunity to view extremely rare antique books published more than a century ago by the Cartea Românească Publishing House, some bearing original autographs, including volumes that belonged to His Majesty King Michael I of Romania (1921–2017) and to His Majesty’s personal secretary, Mr. Mircea Ionnițiu (1921–1990). (See the mini-gallery of images below the article.)

Also on public display will be a copy of the first Romanian-language Bible printed in the Latin alphabet and published in Romania, in Iași, in 1874. The 1874 Iași Bible — titled The Holy Scripture of the Old and New Testaments — was printed by the H. Goldner Printing/Typo-Lithography House in Iași under the auspices of the British and Foreign Bible Society.

Romanian Language Day – A Brief History

1. DID YOU KNOW? – The first country to celebrate Romanian Language Day was the Republic of Moldova!

August 31 is today a date that unites, through the Romanian language, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine, but the origins of the celebration are rooted in the national revival movement in Bessarabia at the end of the 1980s.

In the Republic of Moldova, then the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, the language issue had become one of the principal expressions of the national emancipation movement. On August 27, 1989, the Great National Assembly in Chișinău called for recognition of the language of the majority population as the state language and for a return to the Latin alphabet.

A few days later, on August 31, 1989, the Supreme Soviet of the Moldavian SSR adopted language legislation by which the language of the majority population became the state language and the Latin alphabet was officially restored, after decades during which Soviet authorities had imposed the Cyrillic alphabet.

It was precisely to commemorate this moment that, on June 23, 1990, the Supreme Soviet decided to establish August 31 as a national holiday, initially known as “Our Language” / “Our Romanian Language.” The first official celebration therefore took place in 1990, one year before the Republic of Moldova proclaimed its independence from the Soviet Union.

This explains an apparent historical paradox: Romanians in Bessarabia began officially celebrating the day of the Romanian language 23 years before Romania established the same holiday.

In the Republic of Moldova, the celebration did not arise simply from a desire to honor literature or the beauty of the language, but from a struggle to reclaim linguistic and cultural identity during the final years of the Soviet regime. The Romanian language and the return to the Latin alphabet became symbols of national revival and reconnection with the Romanian cultural space.

2. DID YOU KNOW? – Romania began celebrating Romanian Language Day 23 years later?

In Romania, Romanian Language Day was established much later through Law No. 53 of March 14, 2013, published in the Official Gazette on March 19, 2013.

The law officially designates August 31 as Romanian Language Day and provides for the organization of cultural and educational events both within Romania and through Romanian diplomatic missions and cultural institutions abroad.

Thus, Romania’s choice of August 31 created a shared celebration on both banks of the Prut River, implicitly acknowledging the Bessarabian origins of this tradition.

3. DID YOU KNOW? – This year Ukraine became the third country to officially celebrate Romanian Language Day on August 31?

In Ukraine, a new chapter began in 2026. On March 12, 2026, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed Decree No. 235/2026, officially establishing Romanian Language Day in Ukraine, to be celebrated annually on August 31, while abandoning the designation “Moldovan language” and recognizing “Romanian language.”

The decree states that its purpose is to promote mutual understanding and respect in Romanian-Ukrainian relations, encourage intercultural dialogue, and preserve the linguistic and cultural identity of Ukrainian citizens.

The gesture also carries a meaningful element of reciprocity: Romania officially celebrates Ukrainian Language Day on November 9, and President Zelenskyy explicitly referred to this reciprocity when announcing the decision in Bucharest.

The chronology is therefore highly significant:

Republic of Moldova – 1990; Romania – 2013; Ukraine – 2026.

What began in Chișinău in 1989–1990 as an expression of a struggle to reclaim language and identity has, decades later, become a day officially celebrated in three countries.

In conclusion, the Romanian Book Symposium, organized by the “Romanian Origins” Cultural Center (Romanian Heritage Center NFP), celebrates ROMANIAN LANGUAGE DAY as:

“A celebration born from the struggle to reclaim a language has become, 36 years later, a celebration of dialogue among three countries.”

---

ADMISSION IS FREE, but because seating is limited,
RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED.

To receive confirmation of your admission ticket,
please send a text message with your name
to: (708) 243-2727.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *