Christmas in Hungary


Christmas 2022

 This is my second Christmas in Hungary. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, I
was initiated into the Hungarian perspective of Christmas: the best food, the best song, the best movie, and the best gift. I made some interesting discoveries. First, although the songs were by popular American artists from the 80's and 90's, I didn't recognize them. I had heard of the most popular Christmas movie (Home Alone), but have never watched it...and don't plan to watch it.  They also know about the Grinch, but in our debates, it was usually the "Home Alone" crowd that could offer the most convincing evidence (to their peers, anyway).

The other surprise was Christmas food. The first class thought of gingerbread (both sides), which I could relate to. Most of the other classes debated whether fish soup or stuffed cabbage was the best Christmas food. It seems that Hungarian teenagers associate these dishes with family time. They eat fish soup together and they make stuffed cabbage together. They also make gingerbread together and decorate their Christmas trees with gingerbread cookies. My friend sent me some gingerbread cookies for ornaments, but they never made it to my fir boughs.

Sunday

In the week leading up to Christmas, I was invited to various Hungarian Christmas parties and dinners. On Sunday afternoon after church, some members of the church sang in the town square of a nearby village. The program started at dark (4 pm). The worship team sang familiar Christmas carols while their children played on the courthouse steps. The program ended with the song, "Silent Night."  Rather than candles, children hold sparklers while singing the carol.  This morning during the morning worship service, we sang Silent Night while the children held their sparklers.

Tuesday
On Tuesday, I got together with teachers from the high school to eat fish soup after school. The teachers had also brought some candy and cookies, some of it homemade. One of the teachers made the soup in a 50 gallon cauldron. We ladeled the soup ourselves. 

I went from the school to the church, where we had our weekly prayer meeting. On the Tuesday before Christmas, it was also the day that put up the Christmas tree and decorated it. 

Wednesday
On Wednesday, the school had their Christmas program in the church. I learned that there are about 850 students enrolled in the high school where I teach. I saw all my students walk past except for the 10th graders. The church is quite large and they might have been there already when I got there. The choir sang several Christmas songs including Ave Maria in Latin and O Holy Night in English. There were also some Hungarian Christmas carols which talked about Mary and Joseph and Bethlehem. My reading isn't fluent, but I can recognize proper nouns.  There was also a skit, but I did not understand it.  It had something to do with a Christmas tree, so I don't think the Christmas story was a part of it. Santa Claus was celebrated on December 6 (he and his helpers came to my class at the vocational school), so he didn't make an appearance in the high school program. The whole program lasted about 35 minutes.

Friday 
On Friday afternoon, I talked to my parents on Zoom. I had also invited a friend from China whose daughter had spent a Christmas with us in Texas several years ago.  Another friend from Texas also joined the call and we talked about China and all the things that are happening there.

In the evening, some friends from church invited me to dinner at their house. They just moved into the house in the summer time and are still doing some of the finishing touches. In the middle of their living room they had placed a big Christmas tree. We had lamb stew followed by an entre of chicken, sweet potatoes, and salad. After dinner we talked, then they took me on the tour of their house. After that, we looked at their wedding pictures. It was a lovely evening.

Saturday
On Christmas Eve, another friend from the church picked me up at noon to take me to their house, which is in a village outside of Szeged. We talked about Christmas traditions and made some fun memories of our own. After lunch, we played Christmas carols on various instruments: he on the guitar and viola; I played the keyboard and recorder (not at the same time). His wife and one-year-old son played with toys and Christmas ornaments and sang along.

After our jam session, we took turns reading the Christmas story from the Bible in English. Earlier, I had told them about a family Christmas tradition of praying for each other, which they wanted to incorporate into their family Christmas tradition. After reading the Bible together, we prayed for each other. We took a walk to the park in the center of the village, which had a manger scene. The toddler wanted to pet the lamb.

The park had a Santa scene as well. There was a gingerbread house front, a sled, and  reindeer.  They assured me that reindeer were not a part of the Hungarian Santa narrative, but they had borrowed it from the Americans. Others had told me the same. I forgot why I was discussing Blitzen with someone.

Christmas Day
I went to church this morning.  There were not as many people as there usually are. Many of the members were visiting parents and grandparents. Some of the children missed because of coughs and fevers. We sang Christmas carols, some of them are very familiar. Others are Hungarian Christmas songs that I have come to enjoy. 
The lyrics in English:
Oh, my friend, come, don't be late
Because the moment is here, God embraces you
Don't be afraid, the light of the dawn is near here
Hope, the Lord is with us, he is Immanuel
Oh, come with me
And let's celebrate this night with him
Who is for all people come to earth
Let the world know the good news
that God sent his only son to earth for us

While I was looking for the song on YouTube, I found that the Hungarian artist also has a version of Mary Did You Know in Hungarian: 

Merry Christmas

Comments

  1. BillieJanuary 23, 2024 at 9:57 PM

    Sounds like a very busy and memorable Christmas time....doesn't seem like two Christmases since you have been in Hungry... Wish we could have met in person this summer...miss our chats and game times....😊

    ReplyDelete

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