March 9 became institutionalized, in the obviously secularized Catholic and Protestant West, as Father's Day, even long before March 8 was celebrated as Mother's Day, by extension also becoming Women's Day. Placing the two days at the beginning of spring takes into account the reproductive biology and the warrior culture, present in the collective mind since Antiquity. It is no coincidence that the name of the month derives from Mars, the god of war among the ancient Romans. This is how the custom of Mărțișor (Romanian Celebration – Mărțișorul is a symbol of spring's arrival is like a trinket with a red and white thread) was practiced and still resists the commercial aggression in the North of the country with an obvious masculine touch. The talisman with red and white string was placed by girls and women on the hats of boys and men going off to war when the snows melted and the sleet appeared and the darlings showed signs of restlessness. March 8 appeared as a feminist initiative, later validated by international institutions. Because the validation was related to a socialist initiative, against the backdrop of belligerent anti-communism, the center of gravity of the Mother's Day celebration remained the area of the former socialist countries.

Even if it is not celebrated (the obligatory condition of the celebration is access to the sacred), Father's Day has enough, even more openness towards the religious. There are three points of support for it, worth taking into account when comparing the 9th with the 8th of March. The first distinction, which is imposed almost by itself, is that between the sacred and the profane, in other words between the religious and the secular. If Dragobetele (The celebration of Love in Romania – 24^th February), Marțişorul and Mother's Day do not have any charge of religious sacredness, March 9, Father's Day (not the man's, also marked in a profane calendar) has enough elements of religiosity to give it the status of a holiday. First of all, the Orthodox Church officiates memorial services for the 40 martyrs, martyrs of the Christian faith. Secondly, the Father refers directly to the divinity, and that is why Christians invoke him every time they make the sign of the cross and whenever they refer to the Holy Trinity. Thirdly, Father's Day coincides most of the time with the Easter fast, which gives it an extra charge, humility and moderation.

Unfortunately, the idea that men should gulp down 40 glasses of wine or other liquor, that it's not just their day, in which they take revenge for the event of March 8, has taken root in the popular mentality. It's a good thing that the big traders didn't find out about the commercial potential of the holiday, because otherwise they wouldn't have turned away from a substantial profit. Perhaps an initiative of the Orthodox Church, which would precede the commercial manipulation, would at least delay, if it could not stop what is coming with rapid steps towards us, against a background of secularization and globalization, which are more and more frequent in our lives every day day.

N.B. We want the initiative of the Danubius University Publishing House, the Benone Pușca University Library and the Media Department to periodically offer such Newsletters to become a permanent form of cultural presence in the university and public space. We welcome suggestions for future editions of Newsletter.

Prof. George Lateș

The Center for Hermeneutics “Symbols and Texts” (CHeST) of “Danubius” University of Galați will organize on Tuesday, the 21^st of March 2023, starting with 4.00 p.m., at the University Library “Benone Pușcă”, a round table on the topic of

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND HERMENEUTICS

The point of departure for debates will be the conference of the CHeST’s guest:

Daniel Mazilu (Ph.D. in Philosophy) – Artificial legal intelligence from the perspective of Emilio Betti’s hermeneutics

On March 22, starting at 9:30 a.m., in the Aula Magna of Danubius University, representatives of the US Embassy in Romania, of the U.S. Army Civil Affairs 1814, but also of the 1st Civil-Military Cooperation Battalion will meet with students, master's students, teaching staff and Danubian graduates, in a public information event, with the general theme of the current geopolitical context.

The event is moderated by the Rector of UDG, the American professor Steve O. Michael, and aims to answer the questions of Danubian community members about how the USA thinks it will end the war in Ukraine; about the importance of the Strategic Partnership between NATO, Romania and the USA; how the US Embassy can support Danube students who want to study in America. High school students and teachers from Galati and Braila are also expected to participate in this meeting, the topics addressed are of interest especially for high school students from the final classes who want to continue their studies in universities in the USA.

Participation is only based on reservation place in the hall, to the email address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or to the phone number 0733180466 - Oana Draganescu, Communication Manager, Danubius University.

The event took place within the Danubius University Day Anniversary, February 15, and brought together, in the Library, people of culture, teachers, students and representatives of local authorities.

The new name, the Benone Pușca University Library, represents the first of a series of projects that will be carried out within the Danubius University and the Benone Pusca University Foundation, to pay tribute to the cultural and patrimonial legacy of the Founder.

The initiator of this initiative,  Dr. Florian Nuta, Vice-Rector for scientific research and innovation, proposed to carry out several activities and cultural projects that would focus on promoting the cultural personality of Professor Benone Pusca.

President of the Danubius University, Dr. Andy Pusca, declared his unconditional support for the success of these initiatives that will be carried out to keep alive the memory of the UDG Founder, Dr. Benone Pusca, and addressed the invitation to all members of the Danubius community to implement as many projects of this kind as possible, the Benone Pusca University Foundation being the organization that will deal with their management.