BOO ACHE = B.Ú.É.K. You will hear this two-syllable word for days before and after Szilveszter (New Year Eve). It stands for B.Ú.É.K. – Boldog Új Évet Kívánok (I wish you a happy new year). Hungarian folklore is abundant in superstitions and customs related to new...
What Has Little Jesus Brought you? Mit hozott a Jézuska? That will be the standard question Hungarian people ask their relatives in the coming few days. Jézuska is a diminutive form of Jesus, just like any other Hungarian name, Katika, Balázska, Józsika or Danika. The...
VIRGÁCS, THE PUNISHMENT GIFT Mikulás, the Hungarian version of Santa Klaus, is more than a benign father figure, he has a sense of proportion. While children receive various sweets for their good deeds, they are also presented with a virgács (willow switch) for their...
Katalin Karády A sex symbol and a legend Most nations have a history, Hungarians have Fate. If you want first-hand experience of what this means, go to YouTube and listen to Katalin Karády’s melancholy chanson ‘Smouldering cigarette end’ (Hamvadó...
THE CITY OF ELIZABETH Elizabeth, in Hungarian Erzsébet, Erzsi, Erzsike is a prestigious name-day in the Hungarian calendar, November 19. You may come across the name a lot when rambling in the city. In Hungarian history there were two exceptional women called...
THE ICE SAINTS ARE HERE AGAIN May 12, 13 and 14 are the name days of the three so-called ‘Ice Saints’ in the Hungarian calendar: Pongrác, Szervác and Bonifác. Before weather forecasting became big business and a media event, Hungarian folklore created weather rhymes...
