Easter is celebrated in Christian communities all over the world, but many countries have their own set of traditions. In modern days, these traditions are slowly fading into oblivion and capitalistic products are taking over to satisfy demand. Today we are taking a look at the Hungarian practice of ‘locsolkodás’.

During Easter, young girls are splashed with a bucket of water, and it is probably the most well-known Hungarian Easter tradition. This is a symbolical tradition and a fertility ritual of sorts. You can read more about the origin of Hungarian Easter traditions in THIS article.

It has become so well-embedded in Hungarian culture and tradition, and it has become so important for Hungarians that it is one of the Hungarikums.

Of course, not every girl is quite fond of this tradition, and in some places, it is not quite common to go around with a bucket full of water attacking every young girl you come across. If you would like to celebrate Easter according to authentic Hungarian traditions, I will not hold you back, but if you do not want to sleep on the couch, maybe there is something else you could do.

Instead of a bucket of water, maybe grab a perfume she likes and squirt a little of that on her neck, but wait, there is something else that you should do first.

The other important part of the Hungarian tradition of locsolkodás is reciting a poem. Usually, it is either a romantic or funny Easter poem written solely for this tradition. You can also use any poem your crush or significant other would love, but here are some Hungarian locsolóversek (watering poems) translated to English that you can use.

The first one is probably the most common, and also, because it is easy, there are many funny variations in Hungarian. It is a simple and polite question as well, so if the answer is yes, go ahead and water or spray perfume on her.

“Zöld erdőben jártam,
Kék ibolyát láttam,
El akart hervadni,
Szabad-e locsolni?”

“I went to a green forest,
And saw a blue-violet,
It wanted to wither,
Am I allowed to water?”

“Húsvét másodnapján, tudom, ti is, lányok,
Számomra egy pár piros tojást szántok;
Mert ha úgy lészen, rózsavizem készen,
S megöntözlek szépen.”

“On the second day of Easter, I know,
To me, you girls a pair of red eggs bestow;
And if it is true, my rose water is ready,
And I will water you carefully.”

“Itt a Húsvét, eljött végre,
a szép lányok örömére,
mert a lányok szép virágok,
Illatos víz illik rájok.
Kit húsvétkor nem locsolnak,
hervadt virág lesz már holnap.
Ne fuss el hát szép virágom,
a locsolásért tojást várok!”

“Easter has come, it is finally here,
to the delight of lovely young women
As women are beautiful flowers,
What they need is fragrant water.
Who is not watered at Easter,
By tomorrow they’ll already wither.
So don’t run away, my beautiful flower,
I’m waiting for eggs in exchange for water!”

“Húsvét napja csupa öröm,
A sok kislányt megöntözöm.
Hideg kútvíz szoknyájukra,
Piros tojás a markunkba!”

“Full of joy the day of Easter,
On many girls, water I sprinkle.
Cold well-water on their skirts,
Give us those red eggs first!”

“Öntözzük, öntözzük,
Hadd legyen frissecske!
Így lesz a leányból
Szép, piros menyecske!”

“Let’s water, let’s water,
So she’ll be fresh!
That’s how a girl becomes
Beautiful, lovely spouse!”

And finally a little naughty one just for the fun of it:

“Van nekem egy kis locsolóm,
Kölni nincsen benne,
Ha én azt most elővenném,
Nagy röhögés lenne.”

“I too have a sprinkler
But there is no perfume in it
If I were to take it out
Everyone would laugh out loud.”

The poems are from Citatum, and there are plenty more little Hungarian poems there. As far as the Easter eggs go, which are given as a gift for watering, we have recently published an article on traditional Hungarian methods to decorate Easter eggs. We recommend checking it out, and we hope that if you try them, you will get to like Hungarian Easter traditions.

Happy Easter from Daily News Hungary!??

Read alsoTraditional Hungarian methods to decorate Easter eggs – PHOTOS, VIDEOS

Girls used to be whipped instead of the now customary watering? Get to know the traditional roots of the Hungarian Easter celebration!

Is the egg brought by the Easter bunny a new-age urban custom? What about old traditions like Good Friday morning pálinka drinking, Pilate burning, border detour, or Easter whipping? We gathered these forgotten festive folk customs for a joyful Easter weekend.

• Do you know the origin of these Hungarian Easter traditions?
• Easter in quarantine: tips on how to keep Hungarian traditions alive

Hungarian customs surrounding the days of Easter are often thought to be entirely Christian, but thats definitely not the case. As it will become very apparent later on, Hungarian customs have strong pagan roots that were later moulded to fit the Christian standards. There are a few modern, western influences as well that make our celebration on the surface very similar to commercially well-known Easter.

As early as the third century, there are records of how the Hungarian ancestors celebrated Easter. For example, traditionally, one shall not be sweep on Easter morning because then you are sweeping luck from our lives. It is also forbidden to shake or dust the blanket, as this will bring us bad luck. Its also believed that a squirrel crossing our path is a sign of bad luck.

Anyone who wears a new outfit on Easter will be lucky all year round. On the other hand, if you wear something inside out, you should brace yourself for a period of bad luck!

On the Friday before Easter, also known as Good Friday, several unique habits are customary. It was believed that feeding peppercorn or chilis to our gander or rooster that day ensures that the birds have a prolific summer.

Pálinka for breakfast

It was believed that whoever drinks pálinka, a distilled spirit made out of various fruit, on Good Friday morning and falls asleep somewhere in the summer, the snakes will not crawl into their mouth. But in the countryside of Szeged and Subotica, the girls went to wash and comb under the willow tree on Good Friday because then their hair could become beautiful – according to hellovidek.

Pilate-burning rituals

According to the Hungarian Ethnographic Lexicon, Pilate was burned on Good Friday, Good Thursday or Good Wednesday. A straw puppet symbolising Pontius Pilate, who crucified Jesus, or in some cases Judas, who betrayed the Son of God, was made to be beaten or burned.

Ritualistic village tour against the evil spirits and frost

The lads and the newlywed men bypassed the church, after which they marched through the village singing loudly, praying for a bountiful and generous year. The lads later pinned a pine branch decorated with colourful, ornate ribbons, pieces of paper, and wax-painted eggs to the gate of their loved one. Its name was Dawn Tree. These traditions protected the spring sowing from evil, frost, and hail.

Easter whipping for fertility

It is still customary to sprinkle or water on Easter Monday, meaning sprinkling the women with a bit of water or cologne, or in more extreme cases, water them thoroughly with soda water or a bucket. In the Bakony, on the other hand, there was no watering but Easter whipping. Both habits are mainly for fertility in traditional pagan work. The lads whipped the girls on Easter Monday, saying this:

“Keléses ne légy,
Bolhásos ne légy
Esztendőre frissebb légy!”

This short rhyme roughly translates to “Don’t have warts/don’t have fleas/be fresher this year!” It functioned as an amplifier of fertility and feminine energy.