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Hungarians’ tradition on Easter Monday
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Ladies, prepare your umbrellas for Easter Monday, as you can expect to get completely soaked. Mind you, this is not because of the weather, but a centuries-long tradition associated with Easter Monday in Hungary.
Central-European heritage
If you are from the Central-European region, you might already know what I am talking about. If not, let me indulge you in the age-old rite of the so-called “húsvéti locsolkodás” (easter sprinkling).
Better known in the English-speaking word as “Śmigus-dyngus” (the Polish translation of the activity) is the tradition of young men going around and sprinkling water (or nowadays mostly cologne) on their female friends, family members, and even willing strangers. It is part of the shared cultural heritage of the Central-Eastern European region and is practiced in all involved countries.
Pagan or Christian? Both!
The custom has its roots in paganism but was completely and thoroughly adopted by the Christian religion as well. Most widely believed to be a Slavic pagan practice, the sprinkling meant to symbolise purification and renewal. In the Christian doctrine, this was transformed to hint to baptism, which is done in water as well.
Another important part of the tradition is the reward the young man gets from fulfilling his deed. In the original custom, the boys would receive red painted eggs from the girls they poured water on. Originally, this meant to act as a symbol of fertility and birth, of creating life. This also fared well with the Christian thought, as the egg came to represent the rebirth of Christ, with the red paint meant to illustrate the blood he shed for humanity. These eggs are also more often than not decorated with several geometric and floral patterns.
Evolution of the tradition
As the centuries changed, so did the practices of the custom. With the passing of time, the method of soaking the girls became more and more tame. In the olden days, young dames would dress up in their nicest clothes – and were then thrown into the local lake, river, or the nearby drinking trough. Later, this turned into simply pouring water on them from buckets.
No matter how you put it, pagan or Christian it is a men’s world. Men decide who needs to be purified, and who is attractive no matter how bad and unattractive they are themselves.
This has to against EU rules- they will be with holding funds soon along with any mention of Easter.
I don’t remember ever seeing anyone soaked with water. However, do remember while growing up having boys or men come to the house that my grandmother & lived. They said a poem of a few lines, then sprinkled our shoulders with a bit of ‘rosewater’ or similar perfume. We then offered a drink of something & some poga’csa or walnut kifli etc. It was a fun activity, and acknowledgement that we women, old & young were no invisible to rest of community. At least that was how my grandmother saw it. And me, I was flattered by the handsomely dressed boys who came.