Kaland: Hungarian Holidays

Holidays are important. Not only because people usually get time off work (haha) but also because they tell you a lot about a culture and what it values. Hungary is no exception. I realized the other day that I hadn't ever gotten around to sharing some of Hungary's most important holidays. I'm going to rectify that mistake now. I am going to put the holidays in the order I experienced them so I will not be starting in January.

August 20th - Szent Istvan's Day or St. Stephen's Day. This holiday remembers the first king of Hungary - King Stephen and also the foundation of Hungary as a nation. We can compare it to the 4th of July. I was actually not in Hungary for this holiday because I was in Croatia, but it is celebrated with festivals and fireworks and no work.

October 23rd - This is one of the most important holidays in Hungary. It commemorates the revolution of 1956, when Hungary revolted against Communism and the Soviet Union. This revolution was ultimately brutally defeated by the Soviet's, but the Hungarians are proud of their efforts to thwart Communist rule. People celebrate the holiday by giving speeches and holding political rallies, placing candles, wreaths and flowers at symbolic places (monuments, memorials, and the Terror House), and showing their Hungarian Pride by wearing the national colors of red, white, and green as well as carrying Hungarian flags.

Andrássy út in Budapest looking toward Hero's Square. The street is closed to traffic and by the afternoon was filled with people

Hero's Square - the Prime Minister gave a speech during the afternoon

Military band at Hero's Square

One of the memorials to 1956. The symbolism of this is that as we come together we get stronger and better.

People lighting candles to loved ones or simply as a sign of respect outside the Terror House

November 1st - All Saints Day. This is a day of remembrance for the dead. People decorate graves of their loved ones with candles, wreaths, and flowers.

December 6th - Szent Mikulas Day or St. Nicholas Day. This is when Hungarian children usually receive gifts from St. Nicholas. The tradition is to place their shoes on a windowsill in their home and during the night St. Nicholas will fill it with treats. Children usually receive small gifts and chocolate.

December 25th and 26th - Christmas. In Hungary Christmas is two days. People don't traditionally receive gifts since children got them on the 6th, but the American version of Christmas is creeping in more and more, so now many children receive gifts on Christmas as well as on the 6th. Christmas here is a time to spend with family and loved ones and eat LOTS of food! Traditional foods are fish soup, stuffed cabbage, and beigli (crushed poppy seeds or walnuts rolled up in a pastry), szaloncukor (traditional Hungarian chocolate candy), mezeskalacs (pretty much gingerbread), and forralt bor (hot mulled wine). One of my favorite things about Christmas was the Christmas Markets. I really enjoyed wandering through the brightly lit markets, with a cup of forralt bor, looking at all the traditional goods that were on sale.

Andrássy út in Budapest with Christmas lights

Bekes with Christmas lights

Food at the Christmas Market

Katie and I drinking forralt bor at the Christmas Market in front of St. Stephen's Basilica

Christmas Dinner

January 1st - New Year's Day. This is celebrated much the same way we celebrate in the US. There are fireworks and celebrations on New Year's Eve (although the complete party holiday that NYE is in the US hasn't quite made its way here yet), and New Year's Day is spent with family again eating LOTS of food.

March 15th - National Day. This holiday memorializes the 1848 Revolution for independence from the Austrian Empire. This revolution ultimately failed, but the people still remember it.

Memorial to March 15th in Guyla, Hunary

Easter - Some aspects of Easter are similar to the US. Obviously the Christian importance of the holiday is the same and Hungarians still have the Easter Rabbit who brings treats and chocolates to children, although there are no Easter Egg Hunts for kids like we have in the US. Some of the other Easter traditions are hold overs from pagan times such as boys sprinkling girls with perfume or water. On Easter, the boys go from house to house sprinkling their grandmothers, aunts, sisters, mothers, girlfriends, cousins, etc. Now days, the boys sprinkle the girls with water or spray them with perfume, but it used to be tradition to dump entire buckets of water on the girls or even dunk them in a nearby stream or lake. Once the girls are sprinkled, they give the boys some candy, and/or an Easter Egg (the boys also used to get a shot of liquor, but my students didn't tell me if this happened to them or not!). The Easter Eggs are usually painted red, which symbolizes fertility. If you are reading some "reproductive" undertones here, with boys sprinkling girls and girls handing out fertility eggs, you would not be amiss! Again, there are great Easter Markets around the holiday. Because I was traveling during Easter, I got to see Easter Markets in Budapest, Vienna, and Prague. There really wasn't much difference between the three city's markets, except in Vienna and Prague vendors were selling sticks decorated with colored ribbons. When we asked what those were for, we were told they were used by boys to hit the girls with. Apparently, getting spanked by the stick ensures beauty and health for the following year.