Embassies in Bucharest celebrate online National Culture Day with poems by Eminescu, presentations of Romanian artists

Foreign diplomatic missions in Bucharest celebrated January 15, National Culture Day in Romania, online, with messages that paid tribute to Mihai Eminescu on his 170th birth anniversary, or that brought to light young artists.

The Embassy of the United States of America in Bucharest posted on its Facebook page a video in which ambassador Adrian Zuckerman, along with employees of the diplomatic mission, recites "Sleepy birds" by Mihai Eminescu.

The Embassy of Sweden posted on Facebook the lyrics of Eminescu's poem "And if ...", while the German Embassy in Bucharest mentioned that Eminescu was also a fine connoisseur of German.

"Reliable sources tell us that, at the request of German consul Eduard Grisebach, Eminescu translated and adapted 'Der Handschuh' [the Glove] by Friedrich Schiller. We dropped 'the glove' to our colleagues, who responded to the challenge through a unique interpretation of the two versions," reads the message published by the German Embassy. The message is accompanied by a video in which employees of the diplomatic mission read out Schiller's poem in Romanian and German, alternatively.

The French Embassy presented a young musician. "France supports the young talents of Romania, such as cellist Jan Sekaci. On National Culture Day, we offer you this musical gift," reads the message on the Facebook page of the embassy that accompanies the video recording of a musical fragment: "Old song" by Paul Constantinescu, with Jan Sekaci playing the cello and Iulian Ochescu playing the piano.

National Culture Day in Romania - celebrated on January 15 - remembers the birthday of national poet Mihai Eminescu. It was first observed in 2010. Every year on the day there are celebratory artistic events throughout the country, but also in Romanian cultural institutions abroad.