AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

WORLD PEACE GONG in GODOLLA HUNGARY : WONDERFUL PLACES IN HUNGARY #15

World Peace Gong in Godollo, Hungary

Photo by Zizz.

It seems this is an eternal wish, for peace on planet earth seems to never come.  But that is certainly my wish now and for our future on this planet.

There is a song. "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me..."

                              

Click on the label Wonderful-Hungary to get to the entire series on this theme.

WISHING FOR PEACE

It seems this is an eternal wish, for peace on planet earth seems to never come.  But that is certainly my wish now and for our future on this planet.

There is a song. "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me..."

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

 

FIVE ANCIENT HUNGARIAN DANCES : DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA WIND QUINTET

BY THE BOOK

 

"ANGEL FROM HEAVEN Mennyből az angyal"

SAINT MIKULA and SECRET GIVING - THE SAINT NICHOLAS CENTER

SAINT NICHOLAS CENTER _ THE REAL SAINT NICK  This article tells the true story of the man who provided gold as the dowries for a once-rich man's daughters, and sparked the tradition of SECRET GIVING.  He didn't become the fat and "jolly' Santa Claus for centuries. But the custom of secret giving spread through medieval Europe.

OF HUNGARIAN HERITAGE? TRY THESE CUSTOMS FOR YOUR AMERICAN CHRISTMAS!

Children write letters to Jesus. Parents will mail them or use their personal connections to get the letters to him. One page only, please!

Your Christmas tree does not go up until Christmas Eve.  The children go to bed.  The tree is delivered by angels.  You may opt to ring a bell when the tree and presents from Jesus are ready.

Take it down mid January.  (Feast of Three Kings.)

Very traditional (18th century) hang a pine bough from a live tree from a center beam or ceiling instead of having a whole tree cut down. More ecological, and the smell of pine will permeate.

Hang your Christmas tree with soft candy.  Soft jelly type candies covered in chocolate and wrapped in foil or perhaps homemade walnut clusters are more traditional but you can be inventive. Also consider apples, fruit, or popcorn.

American variation: home made fudge, popcorn clusters, or fruit can be hung in little net bags that have a bow. Visitors get to take one or two from the tree.

Instead of hanging large stockings, have the children put out their shoes or boots out on the evening of December 5th.  The shoes must be polished and clean. Little presents from the Saint come December 6th. Put the boots out on the porch.

Deliver your presents from Saint Nick instead of Santa.  Tell the children the story of Saint Nicholas.  

Better yet, perhaps it's best if the gifts come from Jesus himself.  Open presents from family after your evening meal on Christmas Eve.  

Go to Midnight Mass.

Visit with family and friends on Christmas day and December 26th.

Instead of a turkey, cook a Hungarian inspired meal; get out your cookbooks. Consider having the children help with the meal, for instance, making fresh egg and flour dumplings. 

Play classical music or Hungarian language carols in the background as you cook.

Leave Christmas Day as a spiritual holiday as it was meant to be. Generosity to others is important; consider a family gift to a charity.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO THE HORSES (AND HORSE LOVERS!)

 

THANK YOU - Köszönöm

 

LAJOS KOSSUTH STATUE ERECTED IN BUFFALO NEW YORK

HUNGARY TODAY : KOSSUTH STATUE UNVEILED in BUFFALO  

OK - it's been about a year... 

Excerpt:

Hungary's consulate general in New York said the best is meant to commemorate Kossuth's visit to Niagara Falls on May 22, 1852, and to pay tribute to the Hungarians who emigrated to the US in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Kossuth's efforts to keep the ideas of the freedom fight of 1848-1849 alive had a significant impact on the United States as well, the consulate said, adding that multiple US presidents, including Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy had quoted Kossuth several times.

SARASOTA FLORIDA HUNGARIANS / AMERICAN HUNGARANS : KOSSUTH CLUB

AMERICAN HUNGARIAN FEDERATION : KOSSUTH CLUB

HUNGARY TODAY : SARASOTA HUNGARIANS and KOSSUTH CLUB

Excerpt: The Education Fund provides Kossuth Club scholarships to college-bound seniors of Hungarian descent in Sarasota and Manatee Counties and to Hungarian minority students in Central Europe. ...

How many Hungarians live in this area?  Eva and Geza estimate that there may be some 50-60- thousand scattered over an elongated stretch of coastal areas from Tampa to Naples.  But Sarasota is the cultural capital!  

Imagine from Wikimedia / Wikiwand

REMEMBER

ALL SOULS DAY and ALL SAINTS - HUNGARY NATIONAL HOLIDAY SINCE 2000

"According to folklore, the dead visit them during such times, so it is customary in many places to lay the table for them as well, put bread, salt, and water on the table.  The Hungarians of Bukovina also bake and cook for the dead and take the food to the cemetery and distribute it.  They light as many candles at home as many dead the family has.  In the villages along the river Ipoly, those who cannot go to the cemetery light candles at home on All Saints Day.  They used to observe whose candle burnt out first, because it was believed that they would be the first to die in the family.

Excerpt from :  HUNGARY TODAY - ALL SOULS FOLKLORE  More regional folklore here and gorgeous photos...

Just a note that I have always thought that the term All Souls Day and the term All Saints Day indicated the same holiday but I was wrong, All Souls is for the ancestors but All Saints is for the saints we know about and the saints we do not know about.  In Catholicism it is understood that many a saintly person lived in obscurity.  However, prayer to help those who have not yet gone to heaven to be with God can be said especially on these days, or truly any time.  These souls are able to be released to heaven, and are not suffering eternally for the evil deeds they did when alive.