- Zsuzsanna C.
- Thursday, December 16, 2021
Advent is celebrated in Hungary by some similarly to Americans, though there are some differences. For example, in Hungary some begin to celebrate with Saint Nicholas’ visit on the night of December 5. Children clean their shoes and they put them onto the windowsill to be seen. Children wake up early on December 6 to check their shoes for treats. They hope, if they have behaved well, to receive a gift of candy bars placed in their shoes. For children who didn’t behave Saint Nick is said to leave only black coal and a switch of birch twigs. Since there is no child who would have been good all year long, usually kids receive both.
Christmas is a three-day holiday. For some it is a religious holiday, but in general it is a commercial holiday. December 24 is celebrated with immediate family members, December 25 with the extended family and December 26 with friends and the community. A Christmas tree is set up only on December 24. The Christmas tree is part of the presents that the children get for Christmas with traditional Christmas candy decorations. There are traditional foods on the table with some regional differences: fish, duck, goose with potatoes and salad as well as sweets such as poppy seed or a walnut roll (‘beigli’). Christmas gives the chance to slow down a little bit from a rushing life, to notice the beautifully decorated shops and streets and maybe to visit a theatre and attend a concert.
Some places in Hungary celebrate the time with more programs than others. The Town Hall in Szekesfehervar has the same number of windows as the Advent calendar. In the evenings, you can enjoy seeing or watching hidden treasures appear from behind those windows, such as a nice poem, a fairy tale, or a familiar children’s song. In the Advent Court of the Episcopal Palace, quiet candlelight services are held on Saturdays. On Sundays, another candle event lights up the city’s Advent Wreath. Uniform wooden houses are giftshops for small presents.
Of course, this holiday is not just for giving gifts. Families spend time together, they eat good food, play together, and have fun.
In the Advent Fair adults can enjoy hot mulled wine. The whole family can enjoy gingerbread cookies, hot chocolate and the famous chimney cake. Craft gift-making workshops and festive concerts are offered for the public. This is the time for charity fairs also. There is a “Beautiful Star of Bethlehem” exhibition from the Advent works of local artists.
On Advent weekend, a special holiday train runs for children. On the 30-minute ride, children and adults hear festive melodies and see the almost fairytale looking lighted streets, not to forget the light shows and the holographic Bethlehem stories. The children’s favorite activity is to catch snowflakes on the Main Street when artificial plastic snowflakes are blown into the air to simulate snowfall. Kori Liget, a local entertainment park has an ice rink that is surrounded with the beautiful Music Pavilion.
Another example is the village of Ják, where residents draw Advent numbers. For example, if you draw number one, you will be responsible for decorating your Advent window on day one, and so on. You will keep the decoration on it until Christmas. People get a map of the numbered locations and in the evening they walk around the village and admire the beautifully decorated houses.
Most of the villages in Hungary erect a community Christmas tree and decorate it with lights.