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With promising July blue skies, the people of the surrounding villages gathered together in Kisszékely to make preparations for the annual Harvest Festival procession.
Our usually quiet village was full of cars for this very important event in the Hungarian calendar.
This traditional tractor and cart led the procession down to the local church for prayers and blessings for a successful fruitful harvest.
The horses had been prepared for the procession, beautifully groomed and decorated, the riders looked lovely in their traditional Hungarian dress.
A short service took place on the village green prior to the start of the days’ events. The Hungarian flag was raised and everyone sang the Hungarian National Anthem. The first time I had heard it.
Many of the walkers wore traditional dress, a beautiful showcase of Hungarian womenswear and menswear from all the surrounding villages in preparation for harvesting.
This photo made me smile. The ladies of the village, at 7.00 am in the morning had a shot of the very potent Palinka (Hungarian brandy)! I am told it was a traditional ritual, I would struggle if I drank so early in the morning!
This gentlemen led the way down to the church, his assistant obviously had some last minute mobile phone conversations. Where old meets new!
The Harvest Procession was nearly ready to start, a few more calls on the mobile….and an eager mare and foal were keen to get started!
Mother reassuring her young foal, this was her first outing at a procession and understandably was a little nervous.
The procession at last got moving. The little old lady is one of the senior members of the village and I think that is her grandson accompanying her in the hay cart down to the church and then to the fields.
How sweet of him to hold her hand, a very touching photo.
As the procession of villagers got underway there were several photographers recording the event, just like me!📷 Traditionally whole families including the children all went down to the fields. This was one of the very old fashioned prams used to transport baby in…there is a real baby in there!
These two elegant horses and their beautifully dressed riders brought up the rear of the procession, happily smiling for my photos.
Back from the fields and after a huge communal picnic, usually consisting of breads, cheese, pickles and salads, the procession made their way past the village church, the well frequented pub and back up to the village green.
Do you recognise the little old lady, she returned with a different companion? The hay cart now full to overflowing will continue its journey to the threshing machine on the village green.
Another old fashioned pram had joined the procession, and yes, there was a baby in their too! I guess this was from the 1950’s/60’s and still very functional.
Both the men and the women carried the enormous tools required for cropping, and the little girl carried a crust of bread in her hand just in case she needed a snack! This photo of the little girl caused a bit of a debate on Facebook, does she have a small scythe in her right hand?…the answer is no, the shadows played tricks with our eyes!
Below is a short clip of the villagers returning from the fields, carrying their tools and singing their hearts out!
Back at the village green the horses took a well earned rest under the shade of the trees. Local honey was being sold, produced by one of three apiaries in the village. It is exceptionally good and even tastier as it is produced locally.
The hay ready to be put through the threshing machine.
And the driver with his tractor ready to attach the threshing machine.
Visitors were fascinated with the demonstrations of how things were done many years ago in this quaint little village.
The open air stage was set up for some traditional dancing decorated with beautiful seasonal flowers.
Time for baby to go home, it was a sweltering day for so much walking. It did not deter the youngsters from having fun with traditional old fashioned toys.
This is the Serbian flag and Serbian dancers who had visited the village to display their unique way of dancing.
That was my day photographing Kisszékely Harvest Festival 2023. I hope you enjoyed looking at my photos and will subscribe to my blog. Thank you for taking the time to read my post.
Making Hungary Home 