BY: JESSICA SABO
Hungarians live in Hungary which is located in central Europe. Surrounded by Austria and Slovenia in the west, Slovakia in the north, Ukraine in the north east, Romania in the east, and Croatia and Yugoslavia in the south.
In 9 bc, Romans ruled the western part of Hungary. The Magyars invaded in ad 896. King Stephan turned the Magyars into Christians. Turkey and the Habsburgs ruled in the 16 th century, but Magyars had some say from 1867 until World War l.
Turkish and Habsburg rule continued for 40 years until they decided to have an election in 1990. Became an economy They became part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1999 and the European Union (EU) in 2004.
Hungarian is not similar to any other type of language. Its very difficult because of double letters and accents. German is the 2 nd most common language of the Hungarians.
numbers days of the week
Most Hungarians are Roman Catholic 52% Some are Reformed Calvinists. 16% Few are Lutherans 3% A couple are Jewish
Hungarians celebrate New Years or Farsang which lasts until Ash Wednesday. Busójárás carnival, is in February, on the last weekend before Lent. The 1848 49 Revolution is commemorated with speeches, flag-waving, and parades on March 15 th.
Easter Monday is important to Hungarians. On August 20th, St. Stephen's Day is celebrated. This is Hungary s national day. Fireworks are shown throughout the country. Proclamation of the Republic Day is on October 23 rd, in remembrance of the uprising in 1956. Torches are lit to celebrate.
Hungarians are modern people that have the same rites of passages as us. Such as: Baptism First Communion Confirmation Marriage Graduation Parties
Another school rite of passage is Szalagavato. Szalagavato is a ribbon ceremony that takes place in February of the final school year. The people who attend are parents, grandparents, and teachers and members of the junior class. The Juniors perform a solemn ritual of pinning ribbons on members of the senior class.
Szalagavato
Péter Pázmány (1570 1637) convinced the majority of the upper classes to become Roman Catholics. He was also known for his writing. A very influential Catholic priest of the 20th century was József Mindszenty. He preached for Communism and Nazism. In 1949 the Communist government imprisoned him for treason until 1956. He was freed for a short period of time by anti-communists.
Áron Márton (1896 1980) was the Hungarian Catholic bishop of Alba Iulia (in Romania) he fought for the rights of the Hungarian people and for freedom of awareness and religion. In 1948 he wrote a letter saying the union of the Greek Catholic Church with the Orthodox Church was civil and should not happen. Márton was imprisoned between 1949 and 1955. He was on house arrest until 1967.
Hungarians greet each other with the most respect. When greeting a lady, men will often kiss her hand, especially older men. Close friends will also shake hands when greeting each other. Although mostly Hungarians are very formal, it is common for women to show up topless at resorts or pools.
After World War ll, housing was poor. They were unlivable. The government couldn t provide enough housing for all the Hungarians, so many people homeless. Hungary has the highest rate of suicide. They also have a high rate of heart disease. Transportation has increased greatly since the 1960 s.
Most Hungarian women are were supposed to be married by 23 and men 27, but that has changed since marriage is now a pricey matter. Most Hungarian women would stay home, but now 75% of Hungarian women have jobs outside the house.
Hungarians wear modern style clothing similar to the US. This includes, T-shirts, jeans, sweatshirts, tank tops. Some women can be seen wearing the traditional babushkas on their heads and men wearing hats with floppy brims
Ladies wearing them dolls symbolizing them
Hungarians still wear traditional costumes for festivals. They are brightly colored and embroidered. Women wear white embroidered dresses with lace trim. Men wear white plain or embroidered shirts and dark vests.
Hungarian food is heavily meat based. Most popular food is gou-lash ( gulyás ), which is a stew made with meat, onions, potatoes, other vegetables and seasoned with paprika. Stuffed cabbages and peppers ( töltött ) with meat and rice, cooked in tomato sauce or sour cream
Most Hungarian deserts have chocolate and a lot of nuts. Spices are also used to make it more original. Pancakes ( palacsinta ) with cream fillings (a version of crèpes) and strudel are popular deserts.
Hungarians are well educated. 99.4% of adults can read, and about 16% of the population have college degrees. There are eight years of primary and four years of secondary schooling. All children must attend school until the age of 16.
In the 1950 s, the employment pattern during the communist industrialization completely changed. Hungarians can have second and even third jobs in addition to their first one. in the late 1980s about three-fourths of Hungarian families had income from other jobs.
Soccer (football in America) is very popular and so is water polo. Most towns have both indoor and outdoor public pools. Other popular sports are tennis, skiing, and horse racing.
Other than sports, there are activities that some Hungarians are involved in. Chess is widely played. Music is also popular. People play instruments and go out to listen to it.
The capital of Hungary. One-fifth, of the Hungarians live in this city. Located in north central Hungary. Danube divides Hungary and Budapest.
Hungarian culture has folk art and fine art. Remember able painters are Mihály Munkácsy in the 19th century and Szinyei Merse beginning of the 20 th century. The National Song, written by the nation's most celebrated poet, Sándor Petofi, is very well known and loved.
Hungary has an illegal drug problem. They receive shipments from Southwest Asian heroin and cannabis and South American cocaine. Production of chemicals used to make amphetamines & methamphetamines are in Hungary. Police in Hungary do make efforts to stop the selling of these drugs but its still a problem. Hungarians also consume the drug ecstasy frequently.
The economy of the Hungarians so very low that there is almost no middle class. The rich and the poor barely socialize. Also, the unemployment rate is rising very fast. There is a lot of discrimination against Roma between the Hungarians.
Air pollution is a huge problem among the Hungarians. Many programs have recently been started to stop this. A lot of toxic waste has been dumped in the soil and water supplies. Domestic violence is also a problem that is trying to be fixed.
Most of the Hungarian traditions are gone. One religious tradition that still occurs is Eastertime ritual of locsolkodas. Boys and men sprinkle water or perfume on girls and the girls give them a painted Easter egg.
locsolkodas
Some Hungarians enjoy going back to their peasant roots by having disnótor, a feast. At the end the all slaughter a pig. The wine harvest festival is still held in winegrowing regions in September and October. The Christmas tradition called Betlehemzés, is when men and boys perform a native play using a set up church and manger. They carry this door to door to celebrate Christmas
Franz Liszt was an amazing musician that was loved by many. He was the first president of the Hungarian Academy of Music. Zoltán Kodtály was considered the best Hungarian composer of the 20 th century. Two very famous poets include Endre Ady and Attila József. The books by György Konrád and Péter Esterházy are available in English translation
Folk Art is dated back all the way to the 18 th century. An example is the brightly colored embroidery on the traditional costumes of both men and women. The weavers of the Sárköz region make original red and black fabric. Pottery is made and decorated for weddings.
Red and black traditional costumes
Beginning in 1989, many feminist organizations were formed. The Feminist Network made in 1990, stood up for women s rights. The Federation of Young Democrats (FIDESZ) was important for young women. Abortion is aloud but is still controversial.
In 1961, homosexual activity was anounced legal. Then it was legal above the age of 18 in 1978. In 2002, at 14 it was legal. The Constitutional Court decided homosexuals may serve in the military. In 2006, only 18% of Hungarians supported same-sex marriage Budapest has a Gay Pride event every summer celebrated with a parade and festival.
Prayer among Hungarians is normal. They attend church on Sundays and around holidays. After World War ll, many of their churches were destroyed, but many have been rebuilt. Sacred items would be The Holy Crown of Saint Stephan.