Best of Budapest & Hungary

People celebrate the carnival season almost everywhere in the world, experiencing its varied forms in the most different cultures from Venice to the Canary Islands to Basel – therefor carnivals have a good impact on tourism. In Hungary, the best is to visit the famous Busó Festival in Mohács.

January 6, which is 12 days after Christmas in the Gregorian calendar, marks the Christmas holidays and also the start of the Carnival season. According to our traditions, this is the time when one drives away winter, and welcomes spring. It is high time to start planning where you should travel this year to celebrate this fest. You don't even have to go far to savor Hungarian carnival traditions, as one of the most colorful and internationally famous events of the season is the March of the Busós. The celebration features ‘Busós’ (people wearing furry masks as seen in photos) and includes folk music, masquerading, parades and dance. This traditional fest has been inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of the UNESCO in 2009. In 2019, the event in Mohács will take place on February 28-March 5, with up to 800 busós and 200 masquerades.

Folk traditions in Hungary:

• People believe that if it snows on January 6, spring will come early and if it rains, spring will be rainy.
• Priests bless the water and incense which they later use to baptize children. Holy water is also given to animals so that they would be in good health thru the whole year. People sprinkle holy water on themselves to avoid diseases and also on the soil to bless their homes.