Easter in quarantine: tips on how to keep Hungarian traditions alive
Celebrating a major holiday in the middle of a global epidemic is not going to be the same as usual. However, with the help of technology, we can make the most of it even if locked down in quarantine.
Easter is closely related to the beginning of spring and fertility. Easter is the feast of resurrection and rebirth, and that is the time when the Christian Church commemorates Jesus Christ’s resurgence. It is a family and a religious holiday at the same time, to which several folk traditions and customs are bound. How can we keep celebrating these old traditions in the middle of an epidemic? We have to flexible, but it is not impossible.
Luckily, there are traditions the quarantine does not affect at all. For example, the decorating of the Easter eggs. This creative activity can be extremely useful these days as it helps you relax, concentrate on the task at hand and let your mind wander off. Artistic activities are a great way to look after your mental health in quarantine. Not to mention that you can tie down the little ones for at least an hour.
The so-called hímes tojás, which can be translated literally as decorated egg, is the heart and soul of the Hungarian Easter Holiday. The egg is most commonly known as the symbol of fertility. However, the egg also symbolises rebirth and resurrection, encompassing the past and the future. If you need any tips and techniques for decorating your Easter eggs, check out our article below.
Read alsoTips and techniques for decorating your Easter eggs
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Easter, similar to any other major holiday Hungarians celebrate, is revolved around eating. It is the time when the whole family gets together. The traditional Easter meals are ham, braided loaf and boiled eggs. The ham is first eaten at Holy Saturday evening, at the end of the Lent.
If you have relatives that live far away, there’s no need to leave them out of the family dinner. Download Messenger, Skype, Zoom, or any other app that makes video communication available to your phones (or ask your grandkids to do that for you), and the whole family can be together in the virtual space!
Sprinkling without contact
The second day of Easter is called “vízbevető hétfő” (thrown-to-water Monday) because this is the day of sprinkling. In former times, young girls were dragged out and poured with a bucket of water or taken by the creek and bathed. Men used to go from house to house to sprinkle girls while singing and rhyming, for which they got red eggs in return. Sprinkling originates from the ancient rite of fertility and purgation. The cleansing power of water in Christianity is linked to the christening ceremony.
Sprinkling is a widespread custom, but it usually takes a gentler form. Now, boys sprinkle the girls with some kind of cologne or a hint of water. Pouring a bucket of water on girls is not that common nowadays. However, there are people in the countryside who keep doing things the traditional way. Sprinkling is an activity that needs contact between people, so this if definitely out of the question during quarantine… or at least in its traditional form.
If you have young kids, make the boys say their sprinkling poems on camera, and send the footage to the girls they want to sprinkle. The girls in return can either send them chocolate eggs through mail or send them red eggs electronically in the form of images or gifs. If the girls want to go all the way, they can sprinkle themselves with perfume or water. It is not the same… but it keeps the tradition alive.
Featured image: Facebook.com/mezeskalacs.himestojas/