Romanian modern family

It has been a couple of days since I came across a very interesting statistics on the most valued elements of the modern Romanian society. Not surprisingly, the family qualified in top 5 when it came to choosing between various institutions which were considered in this poll. The Church and the army are the first two most appreciated establishments by those who expressed their opinions.
Traditionally the Romanian family consists of husband and wife and one to three children, but this number may depend on region and local traditions. Yet no matter the region where they live, the couple first goes to the town hall to register their marriage and after that both of them with relatives and friends go together to the church to symbolically unify their destiny in front of God and the community. This being done the wedding party can begin.
The links and connections between relatives and the members of the family are very strong in Romania. The grandparents play a vital role in raising the children, the aunts, uncles, cousins and some other distant relatives usually help each other in order to achieve the common goal of prosperity and happiness. For example in case of a close relative’s death most members of a family – both elders and youngsters - come together and prepare everything and support each other. This is an unfortunate occasion, however life is easier when there is somebody there to listen to you and offer a little help when you need it.
Of course besides milk and honey there are also some clouds that might bring sorrow to the Promised Land of the Romanian family. Some of the guys who get married are not quite ready to consider their new responsibility as fathers, loving husbands and all in all “pater familias”. Some of them start drinking and cannot stop anymore. Their wives and children fall victim to their frustration and low self esteem. In this case the state must help and protect. That is the case of abused women who can get any necessary assistance from specialized state organizations and personnel, NGO’s and the Church.
All in all family is still the most reliable institution in Romania. As a matter of fact most of those who went abroad to work or study come back home after a longer or shorter period they spent working in a foreign country. Some of them actually have left just to save some money and return home to buy a house and get married.