In my cultural post #1, I would like to reflect on my personal experience living in Hungary and tell you a little bit about one of the most important and famous Hungarian National Holidays - Saint Istvan’s Day. I do not blame you if you do not know who Istvan is, why he is such an important figure in Hungarian history, and why the whole country shuts down and spends a lot of money on fireworks and celebrations.
First of all, I would like to give you a little historical background. Stephen I, also called Saint Stephen (in Hungarian Szent István; original name Vajk), was the first king of Hungary, who is considered to be the founder of the Hungarian state and one of the most-renowned figures in Hungarian history. Stephen was a member of the Árpád dynasty and son of the supreme Magyar chieftain Géza. The official website for the Saint Istvan Cathedral (the main Hungarian cathedral which is located in the heart of Budapest) writes:
“On Christmas Day, 1000 CE, Stephen was anointed king of Hungary. According to tradition, he received from Pope Sylvester II a crown that is now held as a national treasure in Hungary. His coronation signified Hungary’s entry into the family of European Christian nations. With the exception of an invasion by the Holy Roman emperor Conrad II in 1030 and minor disputes with Poland and Bulgaria, Stephen’s reign was peaceful.
Stephen organized his kingdom on German models. He founded bishoprics and abbeys, made the building of churches mandatory, and established the practice of tithing. He promoted agriculture, safeguarded private property with strict laws, and organized a standing army. While a ruling class was created, the institution of slavery was left virtually untouched. Stephen also opened the country to strong foreign influences, while saving it from German conquest. He treated the church as the principal pillar of his authority, dispatching missionaries throughout his realm.
Stephen is Hungary’s patron saint. In Hungary, his feast day (celebrated on 20 August) is also a public holiday commemorating the foundation of the state, known as State Foundation Day.”
(source: https://www.bazilika.biz/en/saint-stephen)
King Stephen’s achievements and his successful attempts to transform Hungary into a modernized European catholic state is the first thing you have to learn when you visit Hungary. I live there now, so it is definitely valuable and crucial information for me. That is why I decided to dedicate my first cultural post to King Stephen.
I was lucky enough that the semester at the UR started a week later this year, and I got a chance to still be in Budapest on August 20th - the State Foundation Day aka Saint Istvan Holiday. Free entry to all the main national museums and galleries, a lot of handcrafting fairs, and food markets which take place on the main streets of Budapest are just a few of the great things about this holiday. Another interesting tradition of the Saint Istvan Holiday is that sometime at the beginning of the year the national baking contest takes place, and the winner’s cake gets to be the symbol of Saint Istvan Day for the particular year. This year the winner’s cake was made out of figs, and the fig is one of my favorite fruits, so I could not miss trying the cake at one of the markets. It was delicious. 10/10.
Also, me and my sister planned out the day so that we could use the opportunity of the free entrance to the museums and galleries. In the morning we went to the National Hungarian Museum (in Hungarian Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum) and in the afternoon to the National Hungarian Gallery (in Hungarian Magyar Nemzeti Galeria). I really enjoyed my time at both of them, it was a great balance of just walking around looking at the art pieces and learning new facts of Hungarian history. In the evening there were 30-minute-long fireworks all over the city. I did not go to that because I do not like fireworks. So, this is a small overview of what I did on my first Saint Istvan Holiday, and it seems like it is what most of the locals do every year. Hope you enjoyed reading it!
Below I will include a picture of my ticket and a small brochure from the Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum.
Comments
I really like how you put your personal experiences into your cultural post! I know very little about Hungarian culture so learning about the importance of Saint Istvan’s Day, a holiday I've never heard of, was very interesting and made me want to learn more about what major holidays are celebrated around the world. I am also unfamiliar with King Stephan's major accomlishments which made me curious about other major European figures. The baking contest seems like a lot of fun and I hope to experience Saint Istvan's Day someday!