Easter in Hungary is a time of great celebration. It's believed that the kingdom of Hungary was established in1000 by the famous king named Stephen, the Saint. Within a span of few decades, these historic land witnessed great cultural transformations well reflected in its traditions, thus Easter celebrations in Hungary bear tinges of multi cultural ethnicity.
The actual religious activities in Hungary relating to Easter begin with Lent, the Great Fast (nagyböjt). During Lent it is forbidden to eat any meat, therefore the day before Ash Wednesday is called 'húshagyó kedd' in Hungarian terms, meaning Meat Abandoning Tuesday.
One of the major Easter customs in Hungary is the tradition of 'sprinkling'. On Easter Monday, young men pour buckets of water over young women's heads, or spray perfume, cologne or just plain water, and then ask for a kiss and a red egg. It's mainly practiced in the villages of Hungary and is done so with the sole objective of attaining purification, though the custom is now carried forward by dousing with scented water. Palm Sunday is known as the 'Flower Sunday', Virágvasárnap in Hungarian since it was customary to bless not only branches of the varied plants but also the various flowers of the season. On Good Friday also known as nagy-péntekr houses are cleaned and eggs are decorated. In Hungary, egg gifts were presented in front of the church by godparents to their godchildren. Hungarian children exchange decorated eggs better known as hímestojás as a token of their friendship and love during Easter. Little girls however seal their friendship with a bride's plate containing a bottle of wine, large pretzel and surrounded by ornamented eggs.
Easter festivities in Hungary is typified with the practice of 'Locsolkodás', a day dedicated to playing mischief by reciting poems, playing songs etc. The capital city of Budapest hosts various cultural fairs and fiestas to commemorate the event. Many visitors from the neighboring countries flock to the popular Easter getaways in Hungary like the beautiful countryside view of Kaposujlak, the historic city of Sopron and Veszprém nicknamed as "town of queens". But more importantly it's the mouthwatering Easter delicacies that makes the occasion more special.
Thus, Easter in Hungary is a time of huge festive activities happening every now and than. Here's wishing all readers Boldog Husveti Ünnepeket! Happy Easter!
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