on 20 August, István and the old religion

When I was a child, celebrating the 20 August revolved around the arrival of the new bread. The bread that is made of the flour of the same year's harvest. The old flour of the last year partly has worn out, and thefreshly harvested grains are available and the bread is made of those grains. In Hungary, the main grain for making bread is winter wheat. It is sown during the fall of the previous year and harvested around July. When I was a kid the day was all about bread. Now I now that I have not perceived everything, as there were other things to celebrate as well, but those things were hidden - from me, at least...

When I was a kid and my mother was a journalist, she was not allowed to post a picture of a church in the local paper she was working at. And she was considered a senior journalist. Photos of religious events were not allowed not because her boss did not like her, but because it was forbidden. Period.

Now, things have changed. In the last 15 years or so, these things have gained their normal place in society again. In the past 15 years or so, Hungarians celebrate not only the new bread, but the so-called first king of our country, called Szent István (St. Stephen), who was claimed saint by the Vatican and who is famous for 'getting the country together' and creating a Christian state 1000 years ago. It is 1110 years, to be precise.

Many, MANY people felt relieved when they had no longer to hide to celebrate something that is called saint, something that is related to church.

Many people find this feast holy and uprising. So do I, but for a different reason.

I value the gratitude of Earth towards us higher than a person, who was not really a saint - but that's just me. Many people find St. Stephen an idol and I accept that. He left a manual for his son, Imre about how to govern a country, about being faithful, keeping good manners and he had the necessary firm hand to get Hungary going at his time. He is an idol and for many people his image is useful.

Still, he was under influence of powers that did not do good for us. He, according to his writings and laws, chased and eradicated the old customs that were part of the old religion. His son died without becoming a king, but his followers held on to István's steps. Unfortunately. Anyhow, this is a delicate subject and I have to gather more information before being able to go further into it.

For me the holiday of 20 August is about celebrating Mother Earth, the harvest itself. Man works with and within nature and his efforts are honored. There is new bread as the Earth is fertile. The cycle goes on, there is life. Harvest means life, the end of a process, it means succes and also is the promise of a new sowing. Hungarians used to call wheat 'life' and the székelys *** even find (or used to find) the face of Jesus on each grain.

Photos:

We attended the 20 August in Budakeszi. It used to be a small village south-west of Budapest. Now it is part of the capital. If you see closely the photo you'll see two poles in the right. This particular celebration was about erecting a new flag. So, the scouts people carried those 64 flags of counties, too. Those are on the left. The poles were designed by Makovecz Imre and were put to place by local people. The flag is a Hungarian one, with the usual red-white-green stripes and the Holy Crown is held by guarding angels. It is a sort of a new creation, but we might need those angels to guard us...

The official flag of Hungary is NOT what Wikipedia shows. I like Wikipedia, but he's wrong with that picture. The Holy Crown is part of the flag. See?

The usual fireworks at the end of the day. This one this year was a special one as 4 people died (one of them was a 12 y-o girl) and many are still hospitalized due to a strong storm that came during the fireworks.

*** (Note by Angéla Molnos: The Székely (pronounced: Sakaille) is an ancient Hungarian people living in Transylvania for well over a thousand years. Since the partition of Hungary by the Treaty of Trianon in 1920 they live under Rumanian oppression more often than not in very harsh conditions. Their name is "sicule" in French, ( "siculo" in Italian, which very confusingly also means Sicilian!). A. Molnos found in the English dictionary "Szekler" which to her mind is neither English nor Hungarian. A. Molnos decided to coin her own English name for them a sense of the "Saclers" giving Hungarian sound of the name but with an English ending "-er". )