Hungarian Culture

Hungarian Culture

1. Magical Magyars is the name of their national soccer team. Water polo is big as well, they have meddled in 21 out of 26 Olympic games that they have participated in! Joe Namath, Superbowl quarterback and MVP played for the New York Jets. Johnny Weissmuller was a 5-time Olympic gold medal winner for swimming.
   
2. Verbunkos is a form of Hungarian folk music. It was played during military recruitment. Csardas and nota are two other forms of folk music that derived from verbunkos. Something really great is the MasterCard Balaton Sound. It is a one of Europe's largest open air electronic music festivals. It was started in 2007 and features DJ's from all around the world along with new artists as well. The popular music is mostly electronic and some of the same artists from the US, like Katy Perry and Calvin Harris.
   
3. Hungary is famous for its goulash. Porkolt is a ragout made from pork, beef, mutton, or chicken with onions and Hungarian paprika powder as the main spice. Stuffed cabbage is a traditional dish to make for the holidays.
   
4. Hungary does not have an official religion and guarantees religious freedom. More than half of the population is Roman Catholic. The next biggest groups are Calvinists and Lutherans.
   
5. January 1– New Year's Day
   March 15– National Holiday, commemorating the Hungarian Revolution of 1848
   Easter– Easter Sunday and Easter Monday in March or April
   May 1– Labor Day
   Whit Monday– May or June
   August 20– St. Stephen's Day, commemorating the first king of Hungary
   October 23– Day of the Republic, commemorating the revolution of 1956
   November 1– All Saints' Day
   December 25-26– Christmas
   
   The wedding celebration is a big custom in Hungary. Among other things, it is customary to dance with the bride. Generally this is one of the final programs of the celebration. A plate, a wine bottle and a few glasses are placed in the room, and the dance starts. The best man shouts: ‘The bride is for sale!’ At that moment the guests throw some banknotes onto the plate, and one after the other and dance with the bride. Before handing her over, they drink a glass of wine to the next dancer’s health. This element of the wedding has not only persisted to the present, but is also customary in urban weddings. There is also the Easter sprinkling custom, where men go out all day “sprinkling” cologne on women. The women paint Easter eggs and give them to the men along with beverages.
   
6. Popular tv shows include: 9 months, I'm a Bride Too, Megastar, Mr. and Mrs., and The Voice (Hungary Version). Popular movies include Childrens of Iron Gods, Hoppa, Just the Wind, and Virtually a Virgin. Well known actors from Hungary include Peter Lorre, Eva Gabor, Billy Wilder, Lee Strasberg, and Zita Gorog.
   
7. These are a couple online newspapers. The Budapest Sun: http://www.budapestsun.hu/ and The Budapest Times: http://budapesttimes.hu/
   
8. These are a couple of expatriate forums. http://www.expatexchange.com/hungary/liveinhungary.html
   http://www.justlanded.com/english/Hungary/Forums
   
9. Hungary is a Parliamentary Republic. The current Prime Minister is Viktor Orban. The current President is Janos Ader. The following are the major political parties: Fidesz – the Hungarian Civic Union, MSZP – the Hungarian Socialist Party, Jobbik – movement for a better Hungary, and LMP – a green liberalism party.