Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Top 10 National
Holidays
!
St Stephen's Day
(20 Aug)
The most important holiday in
the calendar celebrates the
coronation of St Stephen
(István), Hungary's patron saint.
@
Christmas (25 Dec)
Ferrari technicians, Hungarian Grand Prix
The city's famed Christmas
gift market is held every
December in Vörösmarty tér.
&
Hungarian Grand Prix
The Hungaroring circuit,
19 km (12 miles) from Budapest,
is one of the most exciting
circuits on the Formula One
calendar. The city goes into full
Grand Prix mode at least a week
before race weekend (usually at
the end of July). Tickets are
expensive and best booked in
advance.
d
www.hungaroring.hu
*
Jewish Summer Festival
£
New Year (31 Dec)
New Year's Eve is celebrat-
ed on the streets. Vörösmarty
tér usually hosts pop concerts
and irework displays.
$
Anniversary of 1848
Revolution (15 Mar)
Hungarians pay their respects
to Sándor Petői by re-en
acting
his poem and 12
ponts
(points)
at the Hungarian National
Museum
(see pp30-31).
This week-long celebration
of Jewish culture is usually held
at the end of August. It features
music, dance, visual arts, comedy
and cabaret. Full details are avail-
able at the Jewish Museum
(see
p38).
d
www.jewishfestival.hu
(
Summer on Chain Bridge
%
Easter (Mar/Apr)
A devoutly Catholic
people, Hungarians celebrate
Easter quietly, usually at home.
^
Labour Day (1 May)
Once a Communist holiday
marked with military proces-
sions, Labour Day is still
observed as a national holiday.
&
Whit Sunday (7th
Arts replace cars on the
Chain Bridge every
Saturday and Sunday from
the irst weekend in July
to mid-August. Painters,
musicians, dancers and
even a brass band or
jazz orchestra entertain
the large crowds.
)
Budapest Wine
Sunday after Easter)
National holiday celebrating
the descent of the Holy Spirit.
*
Withdrawal of the Red
Army (19 Jun)
Though not a national holiday,
the withdrawal of the Red
Army from Hungary in 1991 is
still marked by many people.
(
Republic Day (23 Oct)
Festival
Every September,
Buda Castle provides
the perfect location
for Hungary's iercely
competitive wine pro-
ducers and gastronomes to
display their latest creations and
vintages.
d
www.winefestival.hu
A double celebration marks
the outbreak of the 1956 revo-
lution and the 1989 proclama-
tion of the Republic of Hungary.
)
All Saints' Day (1 Nov)
Hungarian
red wine
Celebrates saints who do
not have their own holy days.
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