Christmas in Hungary

Hungarian Christmas celebrations don’t lack fun, though – people shop at local Christmas markets (some of the best in Europe, by the way!), indulge in delicious foods, skate on ice rinks, and exchange gifts.

At first sight, Hungarian Christmas traditions may seem no different from the rest of Europe, but some customs are very peculiar, stemming from pagan times.

Hungarians skillfully blend traditions of different cultures and historical periods, creating a one-of-a-kind festive atmosphere that can’t be experienced anywhere else.

Christmas Food in Hungary

Food is in the spotlight of Hungarian Christmas celebrations. Local cuisine was primarily influenced by neighboring countries and arguably took the best of Austrian, German, Serbian, Ukrainian, and Croatian food.

Hungarian Christmas dinner starts with fisherman’s soup, made with carp or other fatty freshwater fish and spiced with paprika. The main entrée is traditionally cabbage leaves stuffed with mince and rice, served with sour cream and black pepper.

This dish is known as Töltött Káposzta and is an all-time Slavic cuisine staple. Hungarians eat it year-round, and no feast is complete without it.

Another traditional Hungarian Christmas dish is fried carp topped with tartar sauce and served with potato salad on the side. Roasted turkey is also common, typically stuffed with chestnuts and served with potatoes.

For dessert, Hungarians prefer beigli – walnut and poppy seed rolls sometimes decorated with chocolate to resemble a log. The filling carries symbolic meaning. Walnuts protect the home from evil spirits, and poppy seeds bring prosperity and luck.

However, some locals modify the traditional beigli recipe and make them with chestnut cream, raisins, vanilla, or Nutella. An unusual Hungarian Christmas dessert is makos guba, bread pudding with poppy seeds, sugar, and milk served with vanilla sauce.

Another unique dessert is walnut-filled shortbread cakes shaped like a crescent moon and generously topped with sugar powder.

Hungarian Christmas markets sell a wide selection of gingerbread decorated with colorful icing. Hungarian gingerbread is somewhat unique, infused with honey, giving cookies a light, soft texture and sweet flavor.

The chimney cake is another popular street dessert in Hungary, also found in the Czech Republic and Romania. Chimney cake is made from yeast dough sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and fried wrapped around a rolling pin.

Mulled wine is the best drink for cold winter weather, but many locals prefer palinka – fruit brandy with at least 40% alcohol content.

Christmas Decorations in Hungary

Hungarians decorate their homes and streets for Christmas in the best European traditions. They put up Christmas trees, hang garlands above fireplaces, have Advent wreaths on the doors, and adorn their homes with fairy lights.

Hungarians rarely decorate home exteriors, focusing on interior decoration. However, public places always compete in decoration extravagance, setting up elaborate festive displays with Santa, angels, stars, Christmas trees, and other holiday symbols.

Hungarian Christmas tree decorations are familiar to any American – baubles, ornaments with Christmas characters, tinsel, and string lights. Some locals adorn their Christmas trees with gingerbread biscuits, toffees, or candied fruit.

Many Hungarians still decorate their Christmas trees with old Soviet-era glass baubles and garlands. Some people make wooden ornaments with folk motifs.

Since the 19th century, many Hungarians have decorated their Christmas trees with szaloncukor, sweet fondant covered in chocolate and wrapped in colorful foil.

Hungarians prefer fresh Christmas trees to faux ones because forests take up nearly a quarter of the country’s territory, so there’s no shortage of fragrant firs.

Luca Day

On December 13, Hungarians celebrate Luca Day or the day of the winter solstice. In pagan times, winter solstice night was associated with evil spirits, so Hungarians practiced various rituals to ward them off.

Nowadays, the tradition of celebrating the winter solstice is not forgotten, and locals still observe some folk traditions. One of such customs is carving the Luca chair.

Throughout the 12 days leading from Luca Day to Christmas Day, Hungarians carve a chair from nine types of wood. The trick is that only one part of the chair can be made per day – for example, the front left leg.

Hungarians bring Luca’s chair to the Midnight Mass and stand on it to see the witches. We don’t know what happens if someone spots a witch, but it’s an amusing way to blend paganism with Christianity.

Hungarian girls make 12 dumplings and hide small papers with different men’s names on each inside them on Luca Day. Then, they watch which dumpling comes to the surface first when boiled – it contains the name of their future husband.

Gifts From Baby Jesus & Saint Nicholas

Gift-giving season in Hungary starts early, on December 5, celebrated as Saint Nicholas Day. Saint Nicholas served as a prototype for Santa Claus, the Christmas gift-giver in many countries, and is the patron saint of children and students.

In Hungary, Saint Nicholas is called Mikulás. Children clean their shoes on December 5 evening and put them on the windowsill for Saint Nicholas to fill them with gifts. Usually, Saint Nicholas brings small, inexpensive gifts like chocolate and fruits.

However, only well-behaving kids receive presents. Naughty kids get virgács – a pile of birch twigs wrapped on red paper, given by Saint Nicholas’s evil sidekick Krampus.

Most children get both, though, because everyone has a good and a bad side. Children in schools sing songs and recite poems to please Saint Nicholas and get more treats.

Hungarian Saint Nicholas looks much like American Santa Claus but wears a red robe like one worn by bishops instead of a red fur-trimmed suit and doesn’t ride a sleigh drawn by reindeer.

Modern American Santa Claus figure isn’t popular among Hungarian kids. Most of them anticipate gifts from Baby Jesus on Christmas Eve, who also leaves them in shoes or under the Christmas tree.

During the Soviet Era, communists strived to transform the meaning of Christmas and prohibit Saint Nicholas and Baby Jesus figures. They went as far as to rename Christmas into a “celebration of the pine tree,” but they had limited success.

Hungarian people stuck with the old customs regardless, and neither Saint Nicholas nor Baby Jesus was erased from the hearts of locals.

Krampus

Saint Nicholas distributes gifts and punishment to kids on December 5 with his companion Krampus, but Krampus is more than Saint Nick’s dreadful sidekick.

Krampus, a devil-like horned, anthropomorphic figure from pre-Christian Alpine folklore, isn’t unique to Hungary. Children in Austria, Germany, Belgium, and other European countries also fear Krampus’s punishment.

Although Krampus is older than Saint Nicholas, he was only introduced to Hungarian Christmas celebrations in the 17th century. Initially, he was believed to bring naughty children to the underworld, but the punishment was later changed to a less cruel one.

In Austria, Krampus Night is still a living tradition, when men go out dressed in terrifying masks, rattling chains, and scaring passers-by. However, Hungarian Krampus is a purely mythical character, and children are unlikely to encounter one on the streets.

Holy Evening

Christmas Eve in Hungary is known as the Holy Evening, when people spend time with their loved ones, decorate the Christmas tree, and attend the Midnight Mass. Christmas is a quiet family celebration, so you won’t witness street parties in Hungarian towns.

Hungarians living far from their hometown can travel across the entire country to see their parents, grandparents, and siblings. For many Hungarians, traveling is integral to Christmas celebrations.

People watch Christmas movies and listen to popular songs like Silent Night in the evening. Then, everyone gets ready for the Midnight Mass that begins around midnight.

The largest Midnight Mass in Hungary takes place in St. Stephen’s Basilica, accommodating over 8,000 people. The Basilica is also a noteworthy example of Neoclassical style, worth a visit for any tourist interested in European architecture.

Matthias Church isn’t as enormously large yet majestic, favored by locals living on the Buda side of Budapest. In Hungary, Midnight Mass is sometimes called Golden Mass or Angel Mass.

Christmas Markets

Christmas markets originated in Austria in the late 13th century, and since Hungary is Austria’s neighbor, the country was quick to adopt the tradition.

Hungary’s capital city of Budapest hosts three Christmas markets every year – near St. Stephen’s Basilica, in the old town, and the Vörösmarty Square.

Christmas market on the Vörösmarty Square is the longest-running and the largest, offering a wide selection of handmade ornaments, arts, crafts, gifts, jewelry, and treats in over 100 wooden stalls.

Although smaller, the Christmas market near St. Stephen’s Basilica took the honor of the best Christmas market in Europe in 2019 due to its magical atmosphere.

Apart from shopping, Christmas market visitors can skate on an ice rink under a glittering canopy of lights and listen to live music.

Christmas Singing

Similar to caroling in the U.S. and some European countries, Hungarians have a regölés tradition.

Local singers visit the homes of their neighbors from December 26 to New Year’s Eve, singing good wishes.