How do Hungarians celebrate Easter?

Hello, dear lectors.

How are you doing? I hope you are doing great 🙂

This time, I’ll talk about a worldwide celebration: Easter.

However I will tell you more about the way Hungarians celebrate Easter.

So, LET’S START.

1. What is the most important religion in Hungary?

Well, we need to remember that Hungary has been dominated by forms of Christianity for centuries. The last census (2011) shows that 39% consider themselves Catholics, 11.6% Calvinists and 2.2% were Lutherans.

2. What do Hungarians eat during Easter?

Easter is very related to the beggining of spring and to the traitions in connection with fertility. Easter is also the feast of resurrection and rebirth. The Christian Church commemorates Jesus Christ’s resurgence.

So, as it is a family and a religious holiday, there are many customs and traditions that Hungarian do these days.

For example, the Easter meals are commonly ham, braided loaf and boiled eggs. The ham is first eaten at Holy Saturday evening, at the end of the Lent. On Easter Sunday, most families eat the Easter meal with pickled horseraish. Also, lamb is eaten during Easter.

3. Which traditions do Hungarian have in Easter?

The second day of Easter is called «vízbevető hétfő» (thrown-to-water Monday) because is the day of sprinkling.

In the past, young girls were dragged out by force to the well or the water trough and were pured with a bucket of water or they were taken by the creek and bathed.

Men used to go from house to house to splash girls while singing and rhyming for which they got red eggs in return.

As a flower need to blossom with water, girls also needed water to promote fertility and purgation according to the ancient rites.

Nowadays, the tradition is made with perfume in a gentler form; but mainly in the countryside, it is very common that boys still pour cold water to girls and they recite a poem after that.

A very old poem looks like this:

Szépen kérem az anyját,

Adja elő a lányát,

Hadd locsolom a haját,

Hadd nőjjön nagyra,

Mint a csikó farka,

Még annál is nagyobbra,

Mint a Duna hossza! Szabad-e locsolni?

 

(I’m asking the mother nicely

Give her daughter out to me

Let me sprinkle her hair

To make it grow longer

As long as the tail of the foal

As long as the length of the Danube!

May I sprinkle her?)

4. Painting eggs.

Egg painting is one of the oldest traditions in Hungary. These tradition is even older than Hungary, painted eggs were found in some graves dating back to the pre-magyar times.

From floral designs, to Hungarian motifs, to simple ways to paint them like red or blue. Dark red Easter eggs recall the spilling of Christ’s blood.

Eggs are commonly boiled first and then coloured with vegetal painting. Once they are coloured, you can give it to someone, eat it or keep it as a gift 🙂

Here there is a picture of the Easter Celebration I had with my friends István and Dávid, when they invited me to have traditional dinner dishes and and do some egg painting!

So, this is the end of the post dear lectors.

I hope you liked it.

We will see each other soon with more stories to tell.

Have a nice weekend! 😉

 

 

–

Rafael Moreno

Budapest, Hungary. April 1st, 2016.