Tag: Hungary
May 1st is an important day for Hungarians. Not only is it Labour Day but it is also the anniversary of joining the European Union in 2004.
Labour Day in Hungary is the celebration of summer arriving and also to show appreciation to all the working class people of the country.
This public holiday is also known as International Workers Day or May Day and is celebrated in over 80 countries.
The first May Day celebrations were on May 1st 1890 and are celebrated in most countries around the world. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the bank holiday isn’t fixed on May 1st but instead is observed on the first Monday of May.
May 1st is also a pagan holiday in many parts of Europe. Its roots as a holiday stretch back to the Gaelic Beltane. Beltane or Beltain is the Gaelic May Day festival. Most commonly it is held on 1st May, or about halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man It is considered to be the last day of winter and when the beginning of summer is celebrated.
Traditional English May Day celebrations include Morris Dancing, crowning a May Queen, and dancing around a Maypole.
Celebrations in Hungary
In Hungary, people will spend the day relaxing with family and friends. Some still attend a union or workers’ parade event to celebrate the advancement of workers’ rights.
In usual circumstances (pre-virus) it is a day off for the general population, and schools and most businesses are closed.
The first day of May sees the village tradition of maypole mounting and May-basket giving, which still plays a significant role in the celebrations. Rural villages of Hungary still carry out these ancient rituals today. I found a beautiful description of traditional May Day celebrations and how Hungarians still celebrate these customs here: https://evsengranada.blogspot.com/2017/06/may-tree-tradition-and-easter-in-hungary.html
Our village like many others in rural Hungary decorates trees with ribbons to celebrate Labour/May Day.
How do you celebrate Labour/May Day in your country?
On one of our fortnightly shopping trips, I took my camera with us in case of any photo opportunities along the way. Our first stop was a beautiful stunning sight, fields of yellow canola. The flowers are reaching peak bloom now and look like a vibrant yellow carpet. After flowering, canola produces brown oil-rich seeds when ground up, these seeds give an oil that is widely used for cooking and high-protein meal used in animal feed. Hungary has many of these fields.
Next stop, at a safe distance we visited the local beekeeper. His bees are in our village forest and we wanted to buy the honey made from these particular bees. What a treat, glorious rich tasting honey on hot buttered toast. I am still slightly amused that Hungarians put price stickers actually on the bread.
Shopping completed, we took a tour up into the hills of Simontornya. The roads are mainly dirt tracks but well worth the effort for the glorious views across the valley. From our vantage point, we could see Simontornya church and the Renaissance castle next door. If you would like more information about the castle see here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_of_Simontornya
Grapes seem to grow in every available space on the steep banks, this is a prolific grape growing area, the conditions are perfect.
Further up the valley and many twisty roads later we came across some very pretty winehouse’s. They are traditionally very small, usually with some sort of accommodation at the top and the cellars and winemaking equipment in the cellars.
It was certainly good to get out and about during this restrictive time. Clear blue skies and wonderful fresh air with rising temperatures, it’s such a joy living in this beautiful country.
Making Hungary Home 