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We are celebrating the Day of Hungarian Culture!
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Although this day has been celebrated for just over 30 years, the original date we commemorate dates back to the first half of the 19th century and is a very important milestone in the country’s history, which still influences Hungarians in a way.
What is the most important symbol that you think of when you hear a country’s name? You probably either thought of the flag or the national anthem. There is no point in measuring the two against one another as they both play an important part in identifying a country’s people and citizens. However, if the first thing that came to mind was the flag, I do not need to introduce to you the colours of Hungary as you only need to take a look at the upper left corner. On the other hand, if it is the national anthem that you consider a bit more important, there is a chance that you need Google – or better yet, YouTube – to get the tunes of Hungary’s national hymn into your ears. Do not open the application, though, as, in the following, you will read all the information you need to know about the most important piece of music in Hungary’s history and culture.
Today, on the 22 January, we celebrate the Day of Hungarian Culture, and together with it, we commemorate 22 January 1823, the official birth or rather completion day of the manuscript of the Hungarian national anthem, called “Himnusz – From the rough centuries of the Hungarian people”,
written by poet, politician, and literary critic Ferenc Kölcsey. The piece was part of a bigger manuscript collection where he wrote down several of his works, though not the complete versions, just a preliminary draft. In the case of Himnusz, today marks the anniversary of Kölcsey finally completing his work.
This pack of drafts disappeared somewhere towards the end of the 1830s, after the death of Kölcsey. The Hungarian Academy of Sciences started negotiations with the sister-in-law of the late poet to buy the manuscripts from her, but she was not willing to sell, so everything stayed in the possession of the family. 100 years later, however, the National Széchényi Library managed to acquire it from a descendant.
