Tradition keepers in folk costumes in Hollókő on last year’s Easter Monday
In Christian tradition, Easter Monday symbolizes the continuation and sharing of the joyful news of the Resurrection: while the miracle itself occurred on Easter Sunday, Monday represents the strengthening of faith, the communal experience of joy, and a new beginning. At this time, the disciples began to realize that Jesus truly lived, and it became their mission to proclaim the Resurrection. The holiday is also a symbol of spring renewal and the joy of life, that continues to be celebrated in living folk traditions in many regions of Hungary—through practices such as “sprinkling” and egg decoration.
The best-known folk custom associated with Easter Monday is “sprinkling” (locsolkodás), rooted in the belief in the purifying and fertility-enhancing power of water. In the past, the day was sometimes called “Water-throwing Monday,” referring to the old practice in which girls were often forcibly brought to wells or troughs, and water was poured over them by the bucketful.
Easter Monday sprinkling in Transylvania, Izvoru Crişului (Körösfő), 1944. Photo: Fortepan / Horváth József
This tradition is now rarely practiced, but in some areas—especially in villages—the custom is still alive today, and they even organize festivals around it. One of the best-known Easter festivals takes place in Hollókő every year.
Between the two World Wars, sprinkling with scented water or cologne gradually became widespread: men and boys sprinkle women and girls with cologne after reciting a sprinkling rhyme. The most well-known, classic rhyme is:
“Zöld erdőben jártam, (“I was walking in a green forest,
kék ibolyát láttam, I saw a blue violet,
el akart hervadni, It had started to wilt,
szabad-e locsolni?” May I sprinkle it?”)
Sprinklers do not return home empty-handed. In exchange, they receive brightly colored Easter eggs and are often treated with food and drink.
The egg is an ancient symbol of fertility, and in Christian symbolism represents the Resurrection and has been blessed in church since the 12th century.
Before the spread of chemical dyes, natural materials were used to color Easter eggs. Onion skins were most commonly used for red and brown hues, wild apple bark for yellow, conium for green, and lentil juice for blue. In the villages of Zemplén, green shoots and onion skins were used for coloring.
People in folk costumes at the Hollókő Easter Festival on April 21, 2025. Photo: MTI/Bodnár Boglárka
Egg decoration methods include wax-resist and scratching techniques. In wax-resist decoration, patterns drawn in wax resist the dye. The wax is then removed, and the egg is rubbed with a greasy cloth or bacon rind to give it a shine. In scratching, the design is etched onto a dyed egg.
Decorative motifs can imitate ceramic or embroidery patterns, feature geometric designs, or even depict scenes and inscriptions.
Along the western borders, acid-etched eggs are also known, considered a development of the Baroque period.
Photo: Pixabay
Simpler decoration methods exist as well; for instance, pressing a wet leaf onto a painted egg leaves its veins as a pattern.
Skilled blacksmiths can even make so-called “shod eggs,” adorned with soft metal decorations.
While many families maintain traditional methods, commercially available stickers are also used to decorate eggs today.
A blacksmith who can even shoe an egg. Budapest, 1962. Photo: Fortepan / Szalay Zoltán
Historically, Easter sprinkling had local forms. Arcanum mentions the Ipoly region, where young men went out the night before, collecting 8–10 eggs per household. At pre-arranged homes, they received bacon and made scrambled eggs from the collected eggs. Eggshells were thrown in front of the house of a girl they were angry with. After this, they began the sprinkling rounds, with younger boys often visiting female relatives and godparents separately.
Transylvania, Izvoru Crişului (Körösfő), 1944. Photo: Fortepan / Horváth József
The Easter egg served as both a love gift in return for sprinkling and, in many cases, a traditional gift from godparents, symbolizing the resurrected Christ. The gift was either delivered by godparents or collected by the children themselves.
Easter gifting had other traditions as well. A collection of customs from the last century notes:
“For a young bride, or a young woman or man, her husband—or, in his case, his mother—would ruin her or his work ethic for the entire year if they did not receive new boots for Easter; for young women, usually red or yellow ones. If no new clothes are bought throughout the year, as long as the new boots are ready by Easter, their desires are satisfied. Women carry these boots in their hands to church on Sundays during Easter or for a while afterward, if the ground is muddy, so they stay clean; there they pull them on their feet, now free of mud, only to take them off again after the service and walk home barefoot, just as they came.”
According to folk traditions, Easter Sunday and Monday finally allowed for dancing and organizing balls. Easter balls also had locally established customs.
Unknown location, 1940. Photo: Fortepan / Horváth József
In Ajak, for instance, young men covered the ball expenses, and girls attended in white dresses with their hair done up.
In Beregdaróc, young men collected girls, who dressed nicely and filled their baskets with cakes and wine, covering them with embroidered cloths. The young people led the procession, followed by the mothers with the basket.
Like Christmas, Easter in Kalotaszeg was a three-day celebration, beginning with dancing on Easter Sunday afternoon. Easter also marked the start of the wedding season.
Via arcanum.com, Featured image: MTI/Bodnár Boglárka
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