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Stephen´s Crown and the Hungarian coronization jewels

The Holy Crown of Hungary also known as the Crown of Saint Stephen, is the only crown
known today with "holy" attribute.

The Hungarian coronation insignia consists of the Holy Crown, the sceptre, the orb, and the
mantle. Since the twelfth century, kings have been crowned with the still extant crown. The
orb has the coat-of-arms of the Hungarian king Károly Róbert of Anjou (1310-1342); the
other insignia can be linked to Saint Stephen.

The Crown was bound to the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen, sometimes the Sacra
Corona meant the Land, the Carpathian Basin, but it also meant the coronation body, too. No
king of Hungary was regarded as having been truly legitimate without being crowned with it.
In the history of Hungary, more than fifty kings were crowned with it.

The story of the Hungarian cockade

Cockades, originated from 18th century France and the United Kingdom, is made up of a knot
of ribbons, or other circular- or oval-shaped symbols of distinctive colors which is usually
worn on a hat. In the 18th and 19th centuries, they were used in Europe to show the allegiance
of their wearers to some political faction, their rank, or as part of a servant's livery.
Hungarians tend to wear their cockades on March 15 th, which marks the beginning of the
1848-49 revolution and freedom fight. According to the Hungarian tradition, the leaders of the
radical youth Sándor Petőfi and Mór Jókai got cockades from their loved ones on the eve of
the revolution. Unlike the French cockade, it wasn’t pinned on their hats, but on the heart side
of the jacket or the coat.
Historically, the Hungarian cockade, in the form of a circular national tricolor ribbon with
small straps, has become a symbol of citizens who praise the idea of national independence.
Its aim was to communicate to oncoming people that the person who wore it shares the
Hungarian revolutionary notions.
National symbols
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms of the Republic of Hungary is a pointed, impaled shield. The right side
consists of a silver double cross on red base, situated inside a small golden crown, the crown
is placed on the middle heap of three green hills. On the left side is the so-called Árpád
stripes, four silver and four red stripes. The top of the shield features the Hungarian Holy
Crown.
Flag
The flag of the Republic of Hungary is a tricolour consisting of horizontal red, white and
green bands of equal width. The three colours represent three virtues: red is for strength, white
is for faithfulness and green is for hope. Alternatively, red represents the blood spilled for the
country, white stands for freedom and green is for the land.
Anthem
The text of the Hungarian national anthem was written in 1823 by Ferenc Kölcsey, one of the
great poets of the Reform Age. The music was composed by Ferenc Erkel in 1844, when he
won the contest to compose the national anthem.
Holy Crown
The Hungarian crown was given to Saint Stephen by the Pope on the occasion of his
coronation at around 1000. The crown and the coronation insignia (the orb and sceptre, the
coronation sword and the coronation mantle) were taken to the US after World War II and
were eventually returned to Hungary in 1978. Now they are on display in the Parliament
building in Budapest.

Public holidays
Similarly to most places in the world, 1 January is a public holiday in Hungary. When not
recovering from the night before, Hungarians eat lentil soup or stew on this day for wealth
and good fortune in the new year. Most shops and services do not operate on this day.
15 March is the memorial day of the 1848 Revolution when Hungary proclaimed its
independence from Austria. Although the uprising wasn’t successful, it paved the way
towards establishing the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 that granted Hungary partial
autonomy. Every 15 March, speeches and commemorations are held nationwide, and
Hungarians wear red-white-green cockades above their hearts. In Budapest, visits
to Parliament and many major museums are free, as is the family-friendly entertainment on
offer around Buda Castle. Most shops and services do not operate on this day.
Easter Sunday and Monday have long been public holidays in Hungary – Good Friday was
only added in 2017. For 2019, the long Easter weekend falls between 19 and 22 April. But
while Easter is always a moveable feast, its customs here are age-old. The obscure tradition
of locsolkodás (‘sprinkling’) marks Easter observance. On the Monday, menfolk young and
old go from house to house reciting poems to girls and women, then sprinkling them with
cheap perfume – or a bucket of cold water. While this practice has links to earlier pagan
fertility rituals, in modern-day celebrations it expresses the wish that the lady in question
won’t wilt like a flower. In return for this noble act, men are then treated to food, strong
drinks and freshly painted eggs. Over the three-day weekend, most shops close and public
transport runs less frequently.
May Day is a public holiday, marking the spring festival, as well as International Worker’s
Day introduced during Socialist times. The day also links back to the pagan celebration
of Majális. In modern times, outdoor family-friendly festivals fill the country and many
special events and exhibitions take place. In Budapest, attractions are set up around the City
Park. Most shops and services do not operate.
The Christian holiday of Pentecost, celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter,
commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus
Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks. Pentecost
Sunday and Monday are both public holidays in Hungary.
St Stephen’s Day celebrates Hungary’s first king and the foundation of state. In 1000AD,
King Stephen led the country into the Christian church and established a kingdom. Shortly
after his death, he was canonised on 20 August, 1083. This day is celebrated with a huge
firework display over the Danube spreading Hungary’s national colours of red, white and
green across the night sky, with some gold thrown in for good measure.
October 23rd is observed as a solemn national holiday in Hungary, honouring the 1956
Revolution against Soviet oppression. Eventually suppressed by overwhelming
firepower, this valiant resistance was a first step towards the fall of the Wall. Marked as
a public holiday, 23 October is observed with commemorations, speeches and
exhibitions. The iconic sign of this day is the Hungarian flag with a hole in the middle,
symbolising the ones revolutionaries carried in 1956, after having cut out the
Communist Rákósi coat of arms from the middle.
1 November is All Saints' Day in Hungary. It is a custom among Hungarian families to make
a pilgrimage to the graves of their dearly departed, and decorate them with flowers and
candles. When darkness descends, the commemorative candles on the tombstones bathe
cemeteries in eternal light, harking back to Christian tradition. Even though this national
holiday is one of the most solemn, it is deeply rooted in Hungarian culture.
In Hungary, Christmas Eve is regarded as a more momentous occasion than Christmas Day.
Hungarians celebrate Christmas on 24th, surrounded by close family and friends. It is not
Santa Claus who brings the presents (here, he comes on 6 December) but Baby Jesus.
Christmas Day and Boxing Day are then spent feasting with extended family and friends.
Both of these days are public holidays and most shops and services pack up in the early
afternoon of the 24th. In Budapest, public transport starts up again on the morning of the 25th.
The Memorial Day of October 6th is coming up, but does everyone know what we are
commemorating on this day? One hundred seventy-three years ago, in 1849, twelve generals
and a colonel of the Hungarian army were brutally executed in Arad to send a message to the
Hungarians: they cannot rebel against the Austrian Empire. After heroically fighting for
about a year, to keep the Parliamentary government of Hungary, most of them saw their end
in a very humiliating way; they were hanged on a gibbet. On the very same day earl Lajos
Batthyány, the first Prime Minister of Hungary, was killed in Pest as well.
The reason for this brutality, ordered by Julius Jacob von Haynau, allowed by the Emperor
himself, was the Hungarian rebellion, which started in 1848 on March 15th. As the
revolutionary wave of 1848 arrived in Hungary, Lajos Kossuth demanded to set up a
Parliamentary government in Hungary. On March 15th, the youth of Budapest went out to the
streets to demonstrate their demands. As they were marching from one place to another, the
crowd grew and, in a few days, the whole country supported them.