Charming Christmas traditions in Hungarian families – Part 2

As the most beautiful season is nearing, we would all like to get into a festive mood. The Advent and Christmas periods are brimming with unique customs and traditions, blending religious origins with influences from other nations. We have already wrote about some of them, however, there are still plenty that could be further discussed.

Christmas Midnight Mass

Christmas Midnight Mass is held at midnight on the 24th of December. The Midnight Mass is the closure of the Advent season and it marks the end of the Advent fast. It also symbolises the beginning of the celebration of Christmas. The event does not differ from the usual mass, however, Midnight Mass is attended by people who are not regular mass-goers. Its popularity is due to the festive spirit and the decoration in the churches. The tradition of the Midnight Mass dates back to as far as the 6th century. You can watch a Christmas Midnight Mass here:

Nativity scene (Bethlehem)

As we wrote in our previous article HERE, nativity plays are quite popular in Hungary. These plays recount the story of Jesus’ birth in a play. Nativity scenes are also displayed in almost every town in Hungary during the festive season. During the Christmas season, nativity scenes are exhibiting and representing the birth of Jesus. In some Hungarian households, family members come together to make the figures and create a mini nativity scene to decorate the house.

Source: Wikimedia Commons / Ideefixe

Regölés

Hungarians have their own unique way of singing and performing Christmas carols. Regölés is the tradition of younger men usually. They walk around the town or village, knock on doors and sing to people. In return, they get smaller gifts as well. In addition, back in the day, this was a great opportunity for young men to court girls in the households they have visited. Regölés starts on the 26th of December and it lasts until the 6th of January, Epiphany.

Consecration of the wine

The consecration of the wine is an old tradition taking place on St John’s Day, the 27th of December. On this day, each family brings wine to the church. It does not really matter if the wine is home-made or it was purchased in a supermarket. The wine is blessed by the priest, and the consecrated wine is believed to have magical powers. In the past, people believed that it could cure sick people and animals. Traditionally, it was also poured into wine barrels to prevent the wine from spoiling. You can witness the ritual of the wine consecration below:

Mistletoe

There are more and more foreign holidays appearing in Hungary, such as Black Friday. You can read about the Black Friday sales in Hungary HERE. If we take a look at Christmas decorations in Hungarian shops, we can see mistletoes. Mistletoes are traditional Christmas symbols in England and other countries. As it seems, the films from other countries have affected Hungarian culture already, and now this tradition is setting foot in our beloved country as well. Some believe that if two people kiss under the mistletoe, they will fall in love.