Budapest is a great place to be at on New Year's Eve, because there are many opportunities for fun even if one is not invited by friends to a private party or doesn't want to decide and book anything in advance: countless regular and hotel restaurants organize gala dinners with special programs, and many dance clubs and pubs have parties where one can just drop in.
It's also possible to simply go out in the evening and join the crowd of strangers that celebrates the New Year at one of the three open-air locations: Oktogon, Vörösmarty Square (Vörösmarty tér) or Nyugati Square (Nyugati tér) – programs here are usually put together by the biggest local commercial radio stations, each place offering a different musical style and atmosphere, fireworks at midnight, and the possibility to dance until morning. This year Oktogon will be perfect for disco lovers, those interested in live performances of Hungarian bands can meet at the Nyugati, and foreing tourists will be awaited mostly at Vörösmarty Square, because they can see many different international artists there – here the festival will continue on the afternoon of the first day of 2010 as well, with klezmer concerts, Jewish food and kosher wine.
Those who wish to spend New Year's Eve in a fancier environment have two choices.
The Operetta Boat invites tourists on board for an unforgetable musical, gastronomic and touristic experience: a the candle-lit voyage on the Danube with an international program of excellent instrumental music, singing and dancing; 25 great artists will guarantee a truly special night of entertainment. They will be singing the most popular passages of Italian operas, Spanish songs, musicals in original languages, and performing instrumental solos as well as brilliant folk, classical and step dances in elegant costumes; guests can enjoy all this while admiring the wonderful night view of Budapest and tasting the best local dishes.
A fine Budapest tradition, the annual New Year's Ball of the State Opera House will be organized again as well: on the last nigth of 2009 participants will be invited to watch a unique gala program, eat an exclusive dinner served by the famous Gundel Restaurant, watch dance shows and listen to popular hits, try cocktails made by a world champion mixer then dance till dawn.
On the 1st of January there are two nice concerts to choose from to greet the New Year.
Instead of the light classical music customary at other venues at this time of year, the concert organized in the Palace of Arts (Művészetek Palotája), will feature Joseph Haydn's magical oratorio The Creation that has enjoyed more than two hundred years of unbroken popularity; lead by conductor Ádám Fischer, the program will be completed by three soloists, a chorus and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra.
The other event will be held on the same evening in the Papp László Sportaréna, where a large crowd can join famous violonist Zoltán Mága and many artists invited by him, in celebrating the beginning of 2010. Due to a prime time television broadcast the first edition of the gala has been a huge success in the country as well as abroad, so those who will be there on Friday can expect this second show to be full of surprises and guest stars too.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Disney Heroes in Budapest
As an extra present to children who enjoy the colorful world of glamorous shows as well as classic cartoons, this year again parents can put a guaranteed success-gift under the Christmas tree: tickets to the fantastic Disney on Ice performance that will await visitors in the Papp László Sportaréna in Budapest, for seven shows between the 24th and the 27th of December.
Entitled The Magical Journey of Mickey and Minnie, this will be an unforgettable trip inside the best known Disney tales and the tour guides on the memorable route will be the two giant-headed mice - with their help young and old guests will be able to visit exciting destinations, enter enchanting stories and meet favourite Disney friends.
The fun-filled ice show will feature brilliant lighting effects, excellent music and songs, as well as true magic in every setting and scene, taking viewers to an amazing undersea kingdom with Ariel the little mermaid and Sebastian, to an interesting jungle adventure in the African Pride Lands with Simba and Nala, to a genuine Hawaiian luau feast with Lilo and Stitch, and a fantastic trip to old London town with Peter Pan and Tinkerbell.
Like always, the special choreography will be presented by an international team of award winning figure-skaters, and the unique experience will be completed with charming costumes and popular musical scores, filled with familiar movie hits and rock-and-roll classics the entire family will surely enjoy.
The extraordinary show is, according to its producers, the perfect addition to a family vacation day during the winter holidays: it's about loud laughter, tears of joy, squeaks of excitement, and naturally friendship and love.
Entitled The Magical Journey of Mickey and Minnie, this will be an unforgettable trip inside the best known Disney tales and the tour guides on the memorable route will be the two giant-headed mice - with their help young and old guests will be able to visit exciting destinations, enter enchanting stories and meet favourite Disney friends.
The fun-filled ice show will feature brilliant lighting effects, excellent music and songs, as well as true magic in every setting and scene, taking viewers to an amazing undersea kingdom with Ariel the little mermaid and Sebastian, to an interesting jungle adventure in the African Pride Lands with Simba and Nala, to a genuine Hawaiian luau feast with Lilo and Stitch, and a fantastic trip to old London town with Peter Pan and Tinkerbell.
Like always, the special choreography will be presented by an international team of award winning figure-skaters, and the unique experience will be completed with charming costumes and popular musical scores, filled with familiar movie hits and rock-and-roll classics the entire family will surely enjoy.
The extraordinary show is, according to its producers, the perfect addition to a family vacation day during the winter holidays: it's about loud laughter, tears of joy, squeaks of excitement, and naturally friendship and love.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Saturnalia in Budapest
One of the most popular feasts in Ancient Rome was a celebration dedicated to the god of agriculture and time, Saturn - introduced around the third century BC, Saturnalia days were marked by the reversal of social roles, in which slaves and masters switched places for fun.
Although there is no scriptural or secular evidence that early Christians in the first centuries AD commemorated the birth of Jesus, Saturnalia is in a way still the predecessor of Christmas, as the festival was celebrated with similar customs (gift giving, plenty of food) and the date also coincides with the pagan feast.
In the period between the 20th and the 25th of December The Friends of Aquincum Association and the Aquincum Museum in Budapest organize days of fun for families, offering them the opportunity to revive the antique traditions with the help of interesting children games and special workshops.
Aquincum Museum and Ruin Park are located in the northern part of Budapest, close to the Danube river – the museum building is surrounded by gardens where the ancient ruins of a former Roman civil town are exhibited.
During the first three days of the event, the courtyard surrounding the exhibition hall will host a Christmas Fair with artisans' works for sale, that can be visited during the opening hours, then later in the week there will be handicraft courses, a sacrificial ritual, a pantomime show and a slave market. With the help of experts both children and adults can get to know and try out antique toys and there will be performances selected from Antique literature and staged by actors; these Saturnalia programs will take place between 2 PM and 6 PM.
Those who would like to attend the festivities, can find several places of accommodation nearby – for those who want to relax with thermal and wellness services after the fair we recommend Ramada Plaza Budapest***** (former Corinthia Aquincum Hotel), BB Hotel*** is ready to welcome romantic guests with rooms with jacuzzis, and families who don’t want to spend much and are only interested in attending the Saturnalia the perfect choice is the simple but friendly Hotel Touring**.
Although there is no scriptural or secular evidence that early Christians in the first centuries AD commemorated the birth of Jesus, Saturnalia is in a way still the predecessor of Christmas, as the festival was celebrated with similar customs (gift giving, plenty of food) and the date also coincides with the pagan feast.
In the period between the 20th and the 25th of December The Friends of Aquincum Association and the Aquincum Museum in Budapest organize days of fun for families, offering them the opportunity to revive the antique traditions with the help of interesting children games and special workshops.
Aquincum Museum and Ruin Park are located in the northern part of Budapest, close to the Danube river – the museum building is surrounded by gardens where the ancient ruins of a former Roman civil town are exhibited.
During the first three days of the event, the courtyard surrounding the exhibition hall will host a Christmas Fair with artisans' works for sale, that can be visited during the opening hours, then later in the week there will be handicraft courses, a sacrificial ritual, a pantomime show and a slave market. With the help of experts both children and adults can get to know and try out antique toys and there will be performances selected from Antique literature and staged by actors; these Saturnalia programs will take place between 2 PM and 6 PM.
Those who would like to attend the festivities, can find several places of accommodation nearby – for those who want to relax with thermal and wellness services after the fair we recommend Ramada Plaza Budapest***** (former Corinthia Aquincum Hotel), BB Hotel*** is ready to welcome romantic guests with rooms with jacuzzis, and families who don’t want to spend much and are only interested in attending the Saturnalia the perfect choice is the simple but friendly Hotel Touring**.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Saint Lucy's Day in Hungary
One of the most interesting high days of the Advent period is Saint Lucy's Day, celebrated on the 13th of December, on a date on which according to the unreformed Julian calendar was the longest night of the year. Although that has changed later on, the day is still dedicated to Saint Lucy and beside being a Christian holiday celebrated by most Churches, it is also linked to numerous folk traditions all over the world, and some special ones unique to Hungary.
Saint Lucy, also known as Saint Lucia, is a venerated martyr from the 3rd century: a young Sycilian girl during the Diocletian persecution, she offered her virginity to God and had her dowry distributed to the poor; when her mother arranged her marriage with a pagan man and she refused to wed him, the angry groom denounced her as a Christian to the governor. Guards were sent, first to take her to be defiled in a brothel, then to burn her according to the death sentence – but miraculously they were unable to move her, even with the help of fifty oxen; as a final torture her eyes were gouged out, but she was able to finish her prayer even when her throat was cut. By the sixth century her story was widespread, and because she was the bride of Jesus, after becoming a saint she was considered, among other things the patron and protector of those awaiting marriage.
According to Hungarian folk tales St. Lucy (in Hungarian: Luca) was far from being a saint, she was actually some sort of a witch, and numerous traditions, customs and superstitions were linked to her.
For example people believed that on her day ghosts were roaming around free, so they put garlic in their windows to protect themselves and hid their brooms so witches couldn’t fly away. Peasants began to observe the weather on this day and they did so for twelve days, creating a calendar at the end ("lucakalendárium"); according to popular belief the twelve days until Christmas were a copy of the months of the following year, so if the weather was ugly on one of them they axpected it to be so in the equivalent month as well.
In some parts of the country young men and little boys dressed up in white bed-sheets with smut on their faces, tried to scare everyone and recited funny rhymes and blessings in exchange for small presents or some money.
Girls and women were not allowed to work on this day and young ladies were busy foretelling the future in many different ways. They knocked on the roof of the pigpen to scare the animal – if the pig didn't grunt it meant that they would be engaged soon, if it did, the event would only take place after a number of years (depending on how many times the pig grunted). Another custom was to write the names of twelve young men on pieces of paper, then place them into a sort of fortune cookies or throw them into fire – the one remaining last, would contain the name of the future groom. Also women had seeded wheat on this day and if sprouts appeared until Christmas, that was a sign that crops would be rich in the following year – in many villages this custom is still alive today: the green of the wheat stem symbolizes hope and the arrival of Jesus, so it's placed under the Christmas tree.
The best known Hungarian tradition of this day was the building of Lucy's pentagram-shaped chair ("lucaszék") from nine different types of wood; its maker was only allowed to do one procedure per day and had to finish working exactly on Christmas Eve – then the chair was taken to the church on the high mass, and whoever stepped up on it was able to see the local witches.
A great Saint Lucy's Day festival will be held this weekend in Budapest as well, organized by the Museum of Ethnography, located near the Parliament buliding. The event called Music under the Stars will take place from Friday the 11th of November until Sunday the 13th and will include a Christmas Fair, many creative programs for kids and cultural shows for adults, with concerts and performances featuring a Swedish choir, holiday carolers, and lots of popular Hungarian singers and bands from different music styles from folk to rock.
Saint Lucy, also known as Saint Lucia, is a venerated martyr from the 3rd century: a young Sycilian girl during the Diocletian persecution, she offered her virginity to God and had her dowry distributed to the poor; when her mother arranged her marriage with a pagan man and she refused to wed him, the angry groom denounced her as a Christian to the governor. Guards were sent, first to take her to be defiled in a brothel, then to burn her according to the death sentence – but miraculously they were unable to move her, even with the help of fifty oxen; as a final torture her eyes were gouged out, but she was able to finish her prayer even when her throat was cut. By the sixth century her story was widespread, and because she was the bride of Jesus, after becoming a saint she was considered, among other things the patron and protector of those awaiting marriage.
According to Hungarian folk tales St. Lucy (in Hungarian: Luca) was far from being a saint, she was actually some sort of a witch, and numerous traditions, customs and superstitions were linked to her.
For example people believed that on her day ghosts were roaming around free, so they put garlic in their windows to protect themselves and hid their brooms so witches couldn’t fly away. Peasants began to observe the weather on this day and they did so for twelve days, creating a calendar at the end ("lucakalendárium"); according to popular belief the twelve days until Christmas were a copy of the months of the following year, so if the weather was ugly on one of them they axpected it to be so in the equivalent month as well.
In some parts of the country young men and little boys dressed up in white bed-sheets with smut on their faces, tried to scare everyone and recited funny rhymes and blessings in exchange for small presents or some money.
Girls and women were not allowed to work on this day and young ladies were busy foretelling the future in many different ways. They knocked on the roof of the pigpen to scare the animal – if the pig didn't grunt it meant that they would be engaged soon, if it did, the event would only take place after a number of years (depending on how many times the pig grunted). Another custom was to write the names of twelve young men on pieces of paper, then place them into a sort of fortune cookies or throw them into fire – the one remaining last, would contain the name of the future groom. Also women had seeded wheat on this day and if sprouts appeared until Christmas, that was a sign that crops would be rich in the following year – in many villages this custom is still alive today: the green of the wheat stem symbolizes hope and the arrival of Jesus, so it's placed under the Christmas tree.
The best known Hungarian tradition of this day was the building of Lucy's pentagram-shaped chair ("lucaszék") from nine different types of wood; its maker was only allowed to do one procedure per day and had to finish working exactly on Christmas Eve – then the chair was taken to the church on the high mass, and whoever stepped up on it was able to see the local witches.
A great Saint Lucy's Day festival will be held this weekend in Budapest as well, organized by the Museum of Ethnography, located near the Parliament buliding. The event called Music under the Stars will take place from Friday the 11th of November until Sunday the 13th and will include a Christmas Fair, many creative programs for kids and cultural shows for adults, with concerts and performances featuring a Swedish choir, holiday carolers, and lots of popular Hungarian singers and bands from different music styles from folk to rock.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Saint Nicholas' Day in Hungary
Saint Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra during the 4th century and became recognized as a saint within a century of his death because of the many miracles attributed to him; his reputation evolved among the faithful and later his relics were relocated to southern Italy – since then he has also been known as Nicholas of Bari and has been honoured by various different Churches.
According to some sources his wealthy parents raised him to be a devout Christian and after they died in an epidemic, he dedicated his life to serving God and used his whole inheritance to help those in need. Many stories and legends are known about his life and deeds, the most important accounts saying that his contemporaries suspected that he was behind a large number of anonymous gifts given to the sick and the suffering so after his death people in the region continued to secretely give to the poor in his behalf. Beloved and revered as protector and helper of those in need, Saint Nicholas' example lived on and later medieval nuns used the anniversary of his death to remember his generosity by depositing baskets of food and clothes at the doorsteps of the needy and expecting nothing in return.
Celebrated on the 6th of December in most of Europe Saint Nicholas is an extraordinary character similar to and possibly the model for Santa Claus, and his existence helps preserve a Christmas that focuses on the religious holiday linked to Jesus rather than the material surprises.
Nicholas' (in Hungarian: Miklós) holiday called "Mikulás" is a very important festivity for Hungarians, usually celebrated on a small scale with simple presents given to children by their parents. As the legend says that Nicholas’ bags of gold were tossed through open windows and landed in stockings or shoes left by the fire to dry, the custom is for kids to place their polished boots on the windowsill waiting for St. Nicholas, dressed in a red bishop's cloak, to come and fill them with treats by next morning. Treats have traditionally been sweets and fruit but nowadays chocolate Santa figures and small toys are more common.
Saint Nicholas knows everything about each child, so they all get what they deserve: good boys and girls receive candy and bad ones get a lump of coal as a warning to improve their behaviour by next year; and everyone is given a twig called "virgács" left by the old man's elf companion, a little devil called "Krampusz", to remind them that nobody is perfect.
According to some sources his wealthy parents raised him to be a devout Christian and after they died in an epidemic, he dedicated his life to serving God and used his whole inheritance to help those in need. Many stories and legends are known about his life and deeds, the most important accounts saying that his contemporaries suspected that he was behind a large number of anonymous gifts given to the sick and the suffering so after his death people in the region continued to secretely give to the poor in his behalf. Beloved and revered as protector and helper of those in need, Saint Nicholas' example lived on and later medieval nuns used the anniversary of his death to remember his generosity by depositing baskets of food and clothes at the doorsteps of the needy and expecting nothing in return.
Celebrated on the 6th of December in most of Europe Saint Nicholas is an extraordinary character similar to and possibly the model for Santa Claus, and his existence helps preserve a Christmas that focuses on the religious holiday linked to Jesus rather than the material surprises.
Nicholas' (in Hungarian: Miklós) holiday called "Mikulás" is a very important festivity for Hungarians, usually celebrated on a small scale with simple presents given to children by their parents. As the legend says that Nicholas’ bags of gold were tossed through open windows and landed in stockings or shoes left by the fire to dry, the custom is for kids to place their polished boots on the windowsill waiting for St. Nicholas, dressed in a red bishop's cloak, to come and fill them with treats by next morning. Treats have traditionally been sweets and fruit but nowadays chocolate Santa figures and small toys are more common.
Saint Nicholas knows everything about each child, so they all get what they deserve: good boys and girls receive candy and bad ones get a lump of coal as a warning to improve their behaviour by next year; and everyone is given a twig called "virgács" left by the old man's elf companion, a little devil called "Krampusz", to remind them that nobody is perfect.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Posters in the Socialism
Three years ago, when the Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism (Magyar Kereskedelmi és Vendéglátóipari Múzeum) moved from the Buda Castle to the touristic center of Pest near Saint Stephen's Basilica, the first temporary exhibition organized in its new building was "The Picture Book of the Street": a wide variety of commercial posters from between 1885-1945, accompanied by their contemporary reviews, and with a unique opportunity for visitors to design their own posters on the spot.
This time the exhibition entitled "We are Opening..." will include the 1945-1989 period, offering everyone a peek into the interesting world of the socialist era, through merchandise and slogans that reflect the various trends characterizing the decades between the World War II and the fall of the communist regime. Some posters are stuck on advertising pillars, but there are also sets constructed from enlarged pictures that look exactly like old streets, with typical store entrances and shop-windows filled with the advertisements of the most popular products.
About half of the population of Hungary still remembers late socialism, although mostly its bad influences - but those of them who would like to think about the nice days and take a nostalgic walk down memory lane, can easily evoke the atmosphere of their youth now. They can revisit the interior of grocery shops from their childhood, think about their very first Trapper jeans, see the ads of the best clubs of the seventies, and go back in time to their old living-rooms: armchairs that looked like seashells, china ornaments and knick-knacks, orange coloured tapestries, aluminum candlestick, huge radios and black-and-white television sets. Also they can show their kids a world where one could only buy one type of detergent and the peak of an ad was a famous actor reciting a rhyme.
The time travel can also be an interesting history lesson to foreign tourists, who can find out all about the everyday life of Hungarians who were stuck behind the Iron Curtain. They will get acquainted with the poor supply of provisions that were available (modest selections of canned and preserved food), they will see how some of the best graphic artists and painters of the time had to waste their talents creating posters representing the good moments of social realism. Due to the chronological placement billborads will show them the growth in the standard of living and the gradual evolution in the quality of technology: as a wider range of products and services become available, colour photographs and complex collages appear and take the first steps in trying to influence consumer behaviour.
It's been more than a month now since the exhibition opened and its items will stay on display until the 28th of February 2010 - if you are interested in this controversial period or in the finest of socialist deco design, it's time to visit the MKVM museum.
This time the exhibition entitled "We are Opening..." will include the 1945-1989 period, offering everyone a peek into the interesting world of the socialist era, through merchandise and slogans that reflect the various trends characterizing the decades between the World War II and the fall of the communist regime. Some posters are stuck on advertising pillars, but there are also sets constructed from enlarged pictures that look exactly like old streets, with typical store entrances and shop-windows filled with the advertisements of the most popular products.
About half of the population of Hungary still remembers late socialism, although mostly its bad influences - but those of them who would like to think about the nice days and take a nostalgic walk down memory lane, can easily evoke the atmosphere of their youth now. They can revisit the interior of grocery shops from their childhood, think about their very first Trapper jeans, see the ads of the best clubs of the seventies, and go back in time to their old living-rooms: armchairs that looked like seashells, china ornaments and knick-knacks, orange coloured tapestries, aluminum candlestick, huge radios and black-and-white television sets. Also they can show their kids a world where one could only buy one type of detergent and the peak of an ad was a famous actor reciting a rhyme.
The time travel can also be an interesting history lesson to foreign tourists, who can find out all about the everyday life of Hungarians who were stuck behind the Iron Curtain. They will get acquainted with the poor supply of provisions that were available (modest selections of canned and preserved food), they will see how some of the best graphic artists and painters of the time had to waste their talents creating posters representing the good moments of social realism. Due to the chronological placement billborads will show them the growth in the standard of living and the gradual evolution in the quality of technology: as a wider range of products and services become available, colour photographs and complex collages appear and take the first steps in trying to influence consumer behaviour.
It's been more than a month now since the exhibition opened and its items will stay on display until the 28th of February 2010 - if you are interested in this controversial period or in the finest of socialist deco design, it's time to visit the MKVM museum.
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