Busójárás starts today – thousands dress up in masquerade to drive away winter

According to sokszinuvidek.24.hu, the traditional carnival festival, Busójárás or “the walking of the Busó” starts today in Mohács. A record amount of people, 1350, are expected to dress up in scary costumes, while the organisers expect tens of thousands of visitors.

It is believed that the tradition of the sokác people of Mohács was first mentioned in 1783. The story recalls how their witty ancestors escaped to the Island of Mohács from the Turkish occupation. They put on costumes and returned on the river to surprise the superstitious Turks, who were appalled at the sight of the scary masquerade and fled from the city.

Getting back to present time, the visitors will be entertained by 49 groups of 1350 busós, 350 folk artists, artisan, craftsmen and others selling handmade curiosities.

During the six days of the festival, visitors can choose from eighty programmes at 35 venues.

The events of the festival that traditionally ends with coffin burning on the main square on Shrove Tuesday include – among others – processions, folksong competition, dances, folk performances, concerts, wedding games, exhibitions and mask carving competition.

Photo: Daily News Hungary

The main programmes are held on the 11^th of February, Carnival Sunday, This is when the busós cross the Danube, process to the city centre, place the carnival coffin on water, consecrate new busós and light a huge bonfire on the main square of Mohács.

A novelty is that on the 10^th and 11^th, baby-mommy resting and warming rooms will be available in the Kossuth Cinema and in the building of the City Hall.

Visitors can find all information in the smart phone application of the festival. You can find the exact schedules, locations and basically everything in the menu. A telecommunications company set up a transmission tower providing free Wi-Fi for the time of the festival.

Similarly to previous years, the organisers expect 80-100 thousand visitors at the Busójárás, first Hungarian tradition inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of the UNESCO.

Featured image: Daily News Hungary

Source: https://sokszinuvidek.24.hu/