HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE A HUNGARIAN-AMERICAN THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY?
You may be a recent immigrant to the United States or a few generations away from an ancestor who came, but, if you're reading MAGYAR-AMERICAN, there's a good chance you claim some Hungarian heritage.
And if so, how do you celebrate THANKSGIVING with some Hungarian cultural inclusion?
It's my idea that including Hungarian recipes - food - is what many people include!
It's long been my policy not to embed videos from YouTube if there are commercials. I have no control of the commercials that come up and I hear that the poster doesn't either - therefore I can only offer you the links. But what a YouTube Channel this is!
The Channel is sophisticated and reveals not just the latest understanding of DNA but also a knowledge of language, culture, history... Archeology! I love it!
C 2025 Magyar-American BlogSpot
Just a note that I had a Hungarian friend of mine listened to the Poland one (I notice that the station has yet to date to do the Hungarians) and challenged it...
All Souls Day in Hungary is a time of religious and/or spiritual attention to the humans who have lived their lives and gone before us.
According to It's Hungarian, a publication online: In the 8th century Pope Gregory III has started the holiday of the All Saints’ Day, which is celebrated on the first day of November. The pope has stood out for that – beside the martyrs – the saints, who are canonized after the recognition of the Christianity, must be celebrated too. So, this way the All Saints’ Day is become the feast of the hollowed souls, who are because of the large number of their kind, not mentioned in the calendars uniquely.
All Saints Day in November 1st.
But this day became a way to celebrate our ancestors - saintly or not. This is done by visiting graves, cleaning them, leaving flowers, lighting candles; it became All Souls Day,.
Excerpt: According to the folkways, the night between the All Saints’ Day, and the All soul’s day the deceased have mass in the church, and when the bell tolls, they are going to the house of their beloved ones. In the peasant’s house, an extra plate has been placed to the tables, bread, salt and water has been served into them. In Székely Land a loaf has been cooked, which is called God’s pie or the bread of the dead.
In Hungary, food and charity has given to and cared about the homeless and poor ones, to advance the reach of the bliss of the dead souls. Mainly bread and honey coated scone is given at the gates of the cemeteries.
Excerpt: The Legend of Harka
Popular belief created its own legend explaining
the origin of medical water of Harkány and of
the neighbouring natural formations. The legend
of Harka, existing in different variations, attaches
the rising of medicinal water to the surface to the
devil who failed on a trial. He did not manage to
get Harka a beautiful girl whose tricky mother,
also referred to as a witch, outwitted the devil.
Excerpts: Now, an excavation team led by archaeologist Bence Soós and affiliated with the Hungarian National Museum’s Public Collection Center has revealed the site as one of the richest sources of Late Bronze Age (1450–800 BCE) and Early Iron Age (800–450 BCE) material in the region. ... The team used a range of advanced survey techniques, including metal detecting, field-walking surveys, magnetic prospection, and airborne laser scanning (lidar), to map and study the site. The work revealed over 900 metal objects, largely concentrated on the southeastern plateau of the hill. Importantly, five of the six hoards are dated to the Late Bronze Age, with one from the Early Iron Age. They include jewelry, brooches, decorative discs believed to be military adornments, and a rare Alpine-type spearhead from Hoard I.
Check out the archeology map of the Hill an the photos of artifacts!
This beautiful article with good photos too! Excerpts:
The diverse mineral-laden soils of these iconic landscapes have also given rise to some of the world’s most unique and prized wines. ... What are now the Tapolca and Káli Basins lay on the edge of the receding Pannonian Sea. More than fifty volcanoes were documented in the area, with their violent eruptions and explosive magma being cooled by the sea’s marshy shores. Huge tuff rings surrounded massive craters, which were later filled with lava lakes. ... In Tokaj, the hills and valleys of Hungary’s most prestigious wine region are also the result of volcanic activity, with miles of picturesque twisting black-mold-coated cellars carved out of the soft volcanic tuff. The Tokaj-Eperjes range of mountains boasts a full spectrum of volcanic rocks and soils which differ from one side of a hill to another. On one side there’s a vineyard with dusky red nyirok soil, and on another black basalt and then white soils glint in the bright sunshine. ....
With earthquakes and long dormant volcanos erupting and seemingly linked, I thought I would do some research into VOLCANIC HUNGARY, knowing that the Tokaj area and wine industry is often cited as the grape vines benefitting from the soil and taste of the wine.
THESE LAST WERE ACTIVE WHEN DINOSAURS WALKED THE EARTH.. the Pleistocene period.
THESE ARE CONSIDERED EXTINCT VOLCANOS, however, consider this: In Russia the Krasheninnikov Volcano awoke and erupted after at least 400 years dormant - some articles said 600 years... The eruption came after an 8.8 earthquake which lead to tsunami warnings.
Excerpt: The whole nation was in a feverish preparation to celebrate the 1000th birthday, but, despite all hurried work, the Expo had to be held one year later (Hungarian astronomists set the date of the Magyar Conquest in 895, so the Exhibition was in fact the 1001th birthday).
The original building of the Vajdahunyad Castle (officially called in 1896 the Historical Building Complex, i.e. Tortenelmi Epuletcsoport) was just a temporary structure made of wooden planks and cardboard designs. Even its plain name was descriptive signifying that it is nothing more than a complex of various historical buildings. Ignac Alpar designed the building of Vajdahunyad Var, which is actually the name of an old Hungarian Gothic Castle in Hunyadvar hence Vajda-Hunyadvar (Hunyadvar was part of Austria-Hungary before 1919, now found in Romania).
Are you a "rock hound?" I suggest that Telki Banya would make for a leisurely day trip in Tokaj mountain country. I first heard of Telki Banyayears ago in genealogy archival documents. I suspected I might have ancestors who lived there and research proved I was right, though the old handwritten records for the Protestant Church were both difficult to read and (surprise!) had been transcribed in the FamilySearch genealogy database! (The ancestors moved and became Roman Catholics along the way.) Telki Banya translates to Good Mine and I was intrigued to know that gold and silver had been mined there since the Medieval period. Years ago there wasn't much on the Internet about the little town. There is much more now. I was next amazed to learn that there are surface minerals and gem stones, especially opals! It seems there are so very many varieties of gemstones and crystals to be found in the area this place has true geological educational value. The reason why? Ancient volcanos. You can still see lava domes and other evidence above ground.
This beautiful video is a delight to watch:
Walk or hike, go to the mining museum, buy some locally made jewelry from the also local rocks, check out the Protestant church and graveyard (carved wooden posts), the Saint Catherine's Roman Catholic chapel and an old Jewish graveyard.
As I researched Telki Banya, I found some "gems and minerals" of information.
I have lost where I got this excerpt from:
Far away from noisy towns, hidden in the Zemplén Hills Hotel Ezüstfenyő *** awaits its explorers continuously, reviving the atmosphere of the long-ago Károlyi hunting mansion. Telkibánya is situated between the Northern mounds of the Zemplén Hills; from its mines gold and silver were exploited during centuries. The roots of the 'magical' reputation of the small village go back to the special cultural heritage and the natural beauty of the neighbourhood as well as to the healthy environment excellent for curing asthmatic diseases.
Then there's this one:
Surface minerals, Telkibanya (from a now expired site called szallasfoglalas) said:
The hills surrounding the settlement are the cherished terrain of mineral collectors who find many lovely and precious stones here on the surface including opal, jasper and mountain crystal.
Mineral tours are organized locally. Gyepű Hill primarily offers amethysts, smoky quartz and mountain crystals, Kánya Hill is known for its amethysts, smoky quartz, mountain crystals, and a pseudomorphosis of quartz after calcite. Sinta Hill is the place for the most beautiful mountain crystals but agates can also be found. White Hill (Fehér-hegy) holds geodes, the Ósva Valley varieties of opals.