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Culture

Easter Traditions of Hungary

Easter was quite late this year, so it has hardly been Sprinkling is a widespread custom even nowadays,
over. We would like to tell you some information boys and men sprinkle the girls with cologne. Boys
about how we celebrate Easter in Hungary. tell sprinkler poems this time.
It is related to the beginning of the spring and is This one is the most popular and simplest sprinkler
also the feast of resurrection and rebirth of Jesus poem:
Christ. It is a family and a religious holiday at the Zöld erdőben jártam, Kék ibolyát láttam El akart hervadni
same time, and lot of folk traditions and customs Szabad-e locsolni?
are connected to it. (I was in a green forest I saw a blue violet It was about to

wither May I sprinkle her?)

The traditional Easter meals are ham, braided loaf The reward of sprinkling was and is still food and
and boiled eggs. The ham is first eaten at Holy drink, mostly spirits, and painted eggs. Originally
Saturday evening, at the end of the Lent. On Easter the eggs were painted with onion juice but there
Sunday, most families eat the Easter meal with were another methods as well – the peels of wild
pickled horseradish. The festive food of this day is apple tree resulted yellow color, hemlock made
lamb. green color and lentil made blue. The method of
egg decorating is waxing and scratching. With
waxing, different patterns are drawn to the egg with
hot wax, after it solidifies it’s put into painting
liquid. After the paint covers the egg, the wax is
rubbed off, and the patterns outline on the painted
egg. Then it’s rubbed with a greasy cloth or with
crackling to make it shiny.

Easter Monday is the day of sprinkling. In the past
young girls were taken to the well and poured with a
bucket of water. Men used to go from house to
house to sprinkle girls while singing and rhyming,
for which they got red eggs in return.

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