Easter Monday,
Wet Monday, or “
Dousing Monday”, the second day of Easter is a day of youth and joy for life. “
Easter sprinkling”, a tradition that lives on to this day in Hungary, is based on the belief in the cleansing power of water, and it is connected to a fertility rite. Easter Monday is also called “Dousing Monday”, because the young men used to go around the village and drench the girls with buckets of water freshly drawn from the well.
Most Hungarians associate
January 6 with a quite new custom –
taking down the Christmas tree decorated on December 24. However, the customs of this day root much deeper. January 6 not only ends the Christmastide on this,
the Twelfth Day of Christmas, but it also marks the
beginning of the carnival season.
In Hungary and in Hungarian communities worldwide, a key element of celebrating Christmas is a traditional custom, the
Bethlehem Shepherd’s play. The present-day version of the Bethlehem folk play originates from the 19th-20th century, although it may date back as far as the medieval times.
The players called “Betlehemesek” go from house to house, dressed as Mary, Joseph, angels, shepherds, and the Three Kings, narrating scenes about the birth of Christ.
Named after the Christian virgin, St. Lucy's day (Lucia or Luca’s day -
luca napja) is one of the richest in customs and superstitions. Before the Gregorian calendar reform, it was the shortest and darkest day of the year, and it marked the
beginning of the winter solstice. It is for this reason that
numerous traditions and magic fertility games are linked to Lucy’s Day.
