Hungary's winter traditions are a collection of cultural rituals and festivities, each carrying deep meaning and community spirit. These customs reflect a mix of folklore, heritage, and seasonal celebration rooted in local identities across the country.
Csobánolás – Masked nativity plays of the Székelys of Bukovina
The masked nativity play of the Székely-s of Bukovina – called ’csobánolás’ – is a dramatic custom which represents the birth of Jesus Christ. Originally it was a peripatetic folk comedy, but nowadays it exists and is spreading mostly in school-, stage-, or outdoor- performed versions.
The participants of the 10-12-player performance (with a few exceptions) were all men or young boys. While in the past it was a tradition of the married men, nowadays the younger generation makes up the group, supplemented by a female choir whose members are following the group and are dressed in traditional costumes. In recent decades the religious nature, the fundraising and the entertaining function as well as the expression of the belonging to the Székely-s and the cherishing of the traditions are the biggest motivation factors of the custom.
The Christmas custom with Transylvanian origin was preserved during one and a half century in Bukovina then endured the short stay in Bácska, to finally settle after 1945 at the current inhabitancies: in the villages of Tolna, Baranya, Bács-Kiskun and Pest counties. In the centre of the nativity plays as well as in its history there is the searching process for acoomodation (the holy family) because the ethnic group, which is known for its adherence of traditions and strong sense of belonging, was forced to leave the homeland or residences and find a new home again and again.
Busó festivities – Masked end-of-winter carneval custom in Mohács
The busó [boosho] festivities at Mohács are an end-of-winter custom performed by persons in special masks as a ritual aiming to expel winter. It beings on the Thursday of Carnival week and goes on till Pancake Tuesday. The main features are the busós – frightening-looking figures wearing wooden masks and big woolly cloaks. This line of events, now a festival of national renown, includes a parade accompanied by dance and music attracting the entire population of the city, the busó groups, the craftsmen/women who created the masks and other accessories as well as the musicians and dancers.
Organised events are a no lesser part of the process of the busó festivities than the gathering of the busós, such as the burning of a coffin which symbolises winter, the initiation of new busós, folk dance shows, handicraft fairs and exhibitions, as well as spontaneous actions and manifestations such as cross-gender games, ritual elements of fertility magic and scaring rituals.
Within the city, busós conglomerate into various groups which function as active communities throughout the year and maintain close personal relationships in everyday life. All of this generates a powerful sense of identity within the community which is confirmed by continued preparation, maintenance of the masks, clothes and accessories.
Remélés – Masked carnival custom in Novaj
The ‘remélés’ (originated from the Hungarian word for ’hope’) is a masked end-of-winter and spring-waiting custom of Novaj (village in Heves country, North Hungary) linked to the end of the carnival season.
The main point is that the young, dressed in masquerade lads (whom are not married yet) of a fake wedding procession wander through the streets of the village with rattle and music. They visit the houses of the girls and make the girls and women sooty in exchange for eggs and ham. At the end of the day the boys fry these goods and eat them in the school. The number of participants of the procession is not fixed, although there are some permanent and indispensable genre figures such as grinder, feathery Jewish, chimney-sweeper. They mainly ascribe cleaning effect to the soot: release from evil., curses, disease and even predicts a good and better next year.
Tikverőzés – Masked carnival tradition in Moha
The Chicken-hitting tradition is connected to the last day of the Carnival season, also known as Shrove Tuesday. Young men in the village of Moha (in Fejér County, west-central Hungary) gather together, don traditional masquerades and proceed from house to house soliciting donations of food.
En route they sooty the faces of people they meet. The name ‘Tikverőzés’ refers to the tradition of bringing bounty to and enhancing fertility and prosperity for the families of the village by symbolically hitting with a stick the bottoms of chickens at the houses they visit to hasten their egg-laying.
Although some form of the tradition was indigenous to other parts of the country as well, it has persevered here in Moha thanks to the conscious safeguarding effort and transmission within the community. The symbolic rituals, masquerades and pranks of the tradition – some kept unbeknownst to outsiders – are passed on from one generation to the next. The local government as well as non-governmental interest groups also participate in the preservation and transmission of the tradition.
The end of winter carnival tradition is visited by inhabitants of neighbouring settlements and is covered by the media. It has remained a heritage element and most significant annual event of the people of Moha.
In accordance with the aims of UNESCO, the States Parties shall identify intangible cultural heritage elements within their territories and draw up inventories. In fulfilling this obligation in May, 2009 the Minister of Education and Culture has called on bearer communities, groups and individuals in Hungary to nominate recognized elements of their own Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) for inscription. Following the reccommendation of the ICH Committee, the Minister of Culture created two lists in service of the safeguarding Hungary's intangible cultural heritage, the National Inventory of ICH and the National Register of Best Safeguarding Practices.
For more Hungarian intangible cultural heritage, please visit this website.
