Hungarian Folklore

One of the first things that any foreigner can notice as soon as he arrives in Hungary is how much the local folklore and tradition are jealously preserved and carried on even today. It is enough to participate in any festival, which in summer can be found more or less everywhere throughout the territory, to have to do with traditional dancers and music, songs, bands and sounds that seem to come from another era.

The way in which the folk heritage has been preserved and handed down over the years is undoubtedly fascinating, and allows Hungary to make it one of its main pride. For anyone who wants to visit this country it is inevitable to approach the tradition of this country, willy-nilly, which has also become partly a tourist attraction. In addition to dance and folk music, it is still possible today to attend some numbers of traditional falconry, observe the processing of straw for the creation of bags, brooms and hats, or even see closely the distillation of the palinka and winemaking, an integral part the most authentic image of this country.

If to get closer to the Hungarian wine tradition, the town of Tokaj is often recommended, known throughout the world for its fine wine, it is actually possible to attend shows within the annual festivals, first of all the Debrecen Flower Carnival. This Carnival, which comes to life in August, is the scene of folk dance performances but also of historical reinterpretations, which allow tourists and not only to admire the traditional art, still alive today. Although in the last year and a half, due to the pandemic, the celebrations have been reduced, the Carnival of Debrecen has an average duration of one week, during which the city is filled with floats made of flowers, which occupy the main square , hosting concerts and street performers.

In order to preserve and keep alive the Hungarian history and tradition, over the centuries the "folk houses" have been established: present throughout the territory, they are real "houses of tradition", created to preserve and show the local culture of the past, as well as the artistic production of the community in which they are inserted. By visiting the folk houses it is possible to go back in time, more or less to 1860, up to 1950.

For the same reason, open-air museums and village museums have also been created over the years, with the intention of enhancing buildings, objects and memories of the past. It is therefore possible to find museums of this type even in the smallest villages, and one of the most famous and evocative is the Szentendre skanzen, one of the richest and largest open-air collections in the country.

It is also important to mention the Matyo Folk Art, characterized by fine embroidery with floral patterns, which takes hold in Hungary as early as the 19th century and is mostly used for textiles for domestic use or with decorative function. This art is characterized by different patterns, which take on different meanings from time to time, and it is so important and widespread that it has also been recognized by UNESCO in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Source:

https://visithungary.com/articles/hungarian-folk-tradition
https://www.budapestinfo.hu/hungarian-folklore-concerts