Hungarian traditions: the beginning of the Carnival season and spring

Do you know what the 6th of January is notable for? It is for Epiphany that marks the beginning of the Carnival season, or Farsang in Hungarian, which is full of joy and gladness. However, the day of Epiphany is also symbolic because it is associated with celebrations organised throughout the world to say goodbye to winter and look forward to the coming spring season. Sokszinuvidek.24.hu reports that this day is an excellent example of the preservation of traditional Hungarian cultural values. A list of essential traditions is compiled on this occassion to show the uniqueness of this day. Let’s check them out.

Popular traditions

There are several Hungarian traditions related to Epiphany. In the old days, for instance, people going to church took a jar or a bottle with themselves to fill them with holy water, and in the morning, they started the day by crossing themselves using this water. Furthermore, holy water had great importance in the folk remedy, too.

Believers very often drank from the water to avoid illnesses, but they also poured it onto their livestock and treated diseases like sore throat and many others.

Atanáz Orosz, Hungarian bishop, blesses the water of Szinva stream in Miskolc on the occasion of Epiphany
MTI Photo: János Vajda

House blessings

House blessings also start on 6 January. Traditionally, the local priest goes through the village and performs some rites to protect the inhabitants of the house from misfortune. Furthermore, with the holy chalk, he writes the initial letters of the Three Kings, Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar (CMS), above the door. It is believed that this practice protects the people from the bad, the evil, the illnesses and the mischief coming to the house.

Atanáz Orosz, Hungarian bishop, blesses the locals in Miskolc
MTI Photo: János Vajda

The day of Epiphany also marks the end of the Christmas feats and the beginning of the period of saying goodbye to winter and looking forward to spring. This period coincides with the Carnival season lasting until Ash Wednesday, the day when the 40-day-long fasting period of Lent begins in preparation for Easter.