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Above is a flyer listing all the events that started in the beginning of October and culminated with the Oct. 23 concert.

On Oct. 7th, the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival had a premier showing of the film “Condemned to Live” The co-directors Mate Vincze and Noemi Szakonyi from Hungary were on hand to answer questions about the film. The United Hungarian Societies hosted the after screening reception. There were 100+ in attendance.

On October 16, one of the members of the United Hungarian Societies, the Hungarian Association, in cooperation with the Grasselli Library of John Carroll University presented an exhibit about the revolution and hosted an opening reception. There were about 50+ at this affair.

Thursday, Oct. 20th, the United Hungarian Societies and Mayor Frank Jackson hosted a reception in the Rotunda of Cleveland’s City Hall to remember the occasion and recognize the 56ers here in Cleveland. There were 100+ in attendance.

Coincidently, the Cleveland Orchestra was playing Bartok’s 1st piano concerto on Friday evening, Oct. 21.

The Hungarian Heritage Society (Museum), another member of the United Hungarian Societies, opened its exhibit entitled “The Spirit of Freedom” on Saturday, Oct. 22. Again there were 100+ guests in attendance.

Sunday, Oct. 23 – the Hungarian flag, which flew over the Hungarian Parliament and was given to the Hungarian community in 2015 by Laszlo Kover, the current Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary flew over Cleveland’s City Hall. Fifty plus attendees were at a memorial program which was held at Cardinal Mindszenty Plaza where both a statue of Cardinal Mindszenty and the 1956 Hungarian Freedom Fighter are located.

The piece de resistance came that afternoon at St. Emeric Roman Catholic Church were the historic Cleveland Women’s Orchestra gave a fabulous performance of well-known Hungarian pieces to an audience of 400+. The well-received reception that followed this affair was hosted by the United Hungarian Societies.

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Krasnai Rachel, a young member of the church, was the mistress of ceremonies.   Singing of both the American and Hungarian national anthems which were accompanied on piano by Tamasy Martin, of West Side Hungarian Lutheran Church, officially started the program.  The opening prayer was given by Dr. Krasnai Csaba, pastor of the host church.  Hungarian Chief Consul from Chicago, Dr. Markusfalvi-Toth Adam, gave the opening remarks.  Mr. Bojtos Laszlo, Honorary Consul of Hungary, then read a communication that was received from Orban Viktor, Prime Minister of Hungary.  The program continued first with songs preformed by the West Side Hungarian Lutheran Church’s “kis Magyar Korus” followed by a modern reenactment of the events of Marcius 15, 1848 revolution given by  the First Hungarian Reformed Church’s Sunday school students.   Hungarian Boy Scout Troop #14 came next with a lively recruiting dance.  The guest speaker was Bodor Gergely, a doctorate student from the Eszterhazy Karoly College and the present Cleveland agent for the Mikes Kelemen book program.  Petofi Sandor’s Nemzeti Dal (National Song), which is said to have inspired the revolution, was first song by the “korus”, then it was part of the Sunday school performance and then, just as 168 years ago, was recited by Emilia Payne, a 6^th grade pupil from the Hungarian Language School.  Rev. Kulcsar Sandor from the Hungarian Bethany Baptist church gave the closing prayer and the commemoration concluded with the singing of the Transylvanian anthem.  Refreshments followed.  There were about 200 attendees.

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The president’s report listed the following 2014 events that our group was responsible for:

Marcius 15 commemoration which was held at the First Hungarian reformed Church where the guest speaker was Hargitai Istvan;

Reception at the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival after the world premiere of “The Forgotten Soldier” by Ravasz Balazs;

Okt. 23 commemoration was co-hosted by the Cleveland Hungarian Heritage Society and the guest speaker was Dr. Csak Janos, Hungarian ambassador to Great Britain from 2010-2014; and

A second reception for the Liszt Academy of Budapest’s visit to the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Two of our local Hungarians were honored in 2014.  Ernie Mihaly for his work with the Hungarian Cultural Garden was inducted into the Cleveland International Hall of Fame and Kati Gulden was recognized by the American Nationalities Movement for her work with a number of our Hungarian organizations.  Congrats to both of you !

We remembered our past presidents, Kemes Laciba and Korossy Jack during their illnesses as well as the loss of one of our delegates from the Hungarian Genealogical Society – Mary Lou Uray.

In 2015, we started out the year by remembering the loss of the organization’s long time treasurer, Korossy Ildiko.

We hosted the Marcius 15 commemoration with the West Side Hungarian Reformed Church where the guest speaker was Fr. Forrai Tamas, Provincial of the Hungarian Jesuit Province;

The Rubik birthday celebration at the Great Lakes Science Center was next on our list where we held a reception.  Two of our member organizations, the Development Panel and the Hungarian Scout Folk Ensemble, joined us in the week-end festivities;

The Chagrin Documentary Film Festival asked us back again to help promote the film called “Heritage” by Pigniczky Reka with some yummy Hungarian treats;

The Okt. 23 commemoration was co-hosted with the West Side Hungarian Lutheran Church and the guest speaker here was Dr. Szakacs Imre, the National Togetherness Counselor and Chief Consulate;

Ernie Mihaly was honored again by the Cleveland Cultural Garden as a tireless volunteer and caretaker at their annual One World Day.

Andrea and Bandi Lazar hosted the Hungarian table on the behalf of us at the International Community Day at the Cleveland Museum of Art in both 2014 and 2015.

We kept each other informed as to what’s happening in the Cleveland Hungarian community through several hundreds e-mails during 2014-15.

We supported our two Hungarian radio programs, the Bocskai Radio and the Kapossy Radio, not only in passing the word along to our members to listen but also during their respective radio-thons.

And now we’re in 2016.

Our Marcius 15 commemoration, will be held on Sun., March 13 at the  First Hungarian Reformed Church at 2 PM and the guest speaker will be the Mikes Kelemen Hungarian Book Program intern – Bodok Gergo;

Plans are under way for the up-coming 60th anniversary of the 1956 revolution which will be held on Sunday, Oct. 23 at St. Emeric.

Please mark your calendars accordingly and join us.

I would like to thank my board – Megyimori Marika, Lazar Ari, Tapolyai Peter, kis Megyimori Marika, Varga Sanyi and Meszaros Elemer for your time, efforts and help these past 2 years.  I’m sorry that both Tapolyai Peter and kis Megyimori Marika had to leave our board as corresponding secretary and recording secretary, respectively but welcome on board Strada Pal (corresponding secretary) and Leszko Juli (recording secretary).

Mike Horvath, Ildiko Peller and Endre Szentkiralyi thank you for your service in the nominating committee.

Mary Jane Molnar thank you for a wonderful job conducting our election!

Thank you / koszonom to all of you who voted for my re-election.  I hope that I will not disappoint you.

The new board of the UHS/EME stands as follows:

Elnok / President                                       Valeria Ratoni-Nagy
Alelnok / Vice President                           Maria Megyimori
Penztaros / Treasurer                               Andrea Lazar
Titkar / Corresponding Secretary          Pal Strada
Jegyzo / Recording Secretary                 Julia Leszko
Ellenor 1 / Controller 1                             Elemer Meszaros
Ellenor 2 / Controller 2                            Sandor Varga

You now have my permission to cancel the Feb 20th “snow day” meeting date and do something fun.

-vali

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*        West Side Hungarian Lutheran church and Rev. Tamasy Eva for co-hosting this gathering with the United Hungarian Societies
*        West Side Hungarian Reformed Church for being the venue for the occasion
*        Peller Miklos for stepping in the last minute to help with the piano accompaniments
*        Solymosi Aladar for being our wonderful Master of Ceremonies
*        “kis Magyar Korus” for your faithful musical tribute and Vasarhelyi Simon Juci for skillfully conducting them
*        West Side Hungarian school pupils Solymosi Kati and Tamasy Viola, for your poetry recitation and the darling little ones for your innocent and pure performance
*        Hungarian Girl Scout Troop #34 for the beautiful remembrance
*        Hungarian Boy Scout Troop #14 for your unexpected but welcomed attendance
*        Leitgeb Edina for your enriching recitation
*        Dr. Szakacs Imre,  Hungarian Consul of the National Cohesion, for departing by car from New York in the early morning to deliver         his poigant message to us and then returning to New York – your commitment is truly appreciated
*        Fr. Mezei Andras, from St. Emeric’s Catholic church, for his eloquent closing prayer
*        Rev. Tamasy Eva and Toth Maria “Ovi” and all the other fantastic bakers who shared their talents with the rest of us with mouth-watering treats
*        Megyimori Marika, Varga Sanyi and Lazar Ari, members of the United Hungarian Societies board, who were there to assist with         whatever had to be done.  (Thank you Marika for the awesome “korozot” – it was a hit, as usual)
*        Bocskai Radio for recording the event for posterity

and last but not least all of the devoted Hungarians who attended.

Köszönöm
és Isten áldd meg a Magyart !

-vali

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Stephen was a member of the Árpád dynasty and son of the Magyar Grand Prince Géza. He was born a pagan but was baptized and reared as a Christian, and in 996 he married Gisela, daughter of Duke Henry II of Bavaria (and sister of the future Holy Roman emperor Henry II). After the death of his father (997), Stephen combated an insurrection led by his older cousin, Koppány, who claimed the throne in accordance with Árpád succession rules. Stephen defeated Koppány at Veszprém (998) and had him executed as a pagan. With the defeat and death of Koppany, Stephen asserted his claim to reign all lands dominated by Hungarian lords and was declared king.

On Christmas Day, 1000 ce, Stephen was anointed king of Hungary. According to tradition, he received from Pope Sylvester II a crown that is now held as a national treasure in Hungary. His coronation signified Hungary’s entry into the family of European Christian nations. Stephen’s power did not rely on his coronation. The ceremony granted him the internationally accepted legitimacy of a Christian monarch.  With the exception of an invasion by the Holy Roman emperor Conrad II in 1030 and disputes with Poland and Bulgaria and some of his own Hungarian lords, Stephen’s reign was relatively peaceful.

The transformation of Hungary into a Christian state was one of Stephen’s principal concerns throughout his reign. He set up a territory-based administrative system, establishing counties. He founded bishoprics and abbeys, made the building of churches mandatory, and established the practice of tithing. He promoted agriculture, safeguarded private property with strict laws, and organized a standing army. While a ruling class was created, the institution of slavery was left virtually untouched. He treated the church as the principal pillar of his authority, dispatching missionaries throughout his realm. Stephen’s main achievement is considered to be the establishment of a Christian state that ensured Magyars survive in the Carpathian Basin. Stephen’s son, Emeric, who was to follow him as king, died in an unfortunate accident in 1031. The elderly King never fully regained his former health and his achievements in establishing a Christian state were in danger. Following Stephen’s death in 1038, the country descended into a series of internal conflicts and civil war. Not until the reign of King Laszlo I in 1077 did relative peace return to Hungary.

Stephen is venerated as the patron saint of Hungary, protector of kings.  Stephen as well as his son Emeric, were canonized as saints in 1083. Although his feast day in the Catholic calendar is August 16, Hungarians celebrate his feast day on August 20, which is a national holiday.

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Reaping with a sickle Szentgál, Veszprém County

The grain begins to grow into the stalk on Saint George’s day (April24); the ears appear in May; it stops growing on the day of Guy (June 15); and the root breaks on the day of Peter and Paul (June 29).  From here on it just ripens and the harvest can begin.

Harvest day was carefully chosen.  Harvesting was not begun during new moon, and the day of Elias, was also thought to be unlucky, because lighting might strike.  If the first day of harvest was to fall on a Friday, enough had to be cut down on Thursday for a sheaf, so that the main work of harvesting should not begin on a day thought to be unlucky.

Tools used for the harvest

One of the tools of the harvest is the sickle (sarló) .  There are two basic types:        the tooth sickle and the smooth bladed kaszasarló.  There are two types of the kaszasarló, distinguished by the curvature and the way of attachment to the handle.  One is the curved form, the blade starts from the handle, continues straight and bends only toward the end.  The other widens out just above the handle, becomes arched and only then continues upward.  This generally is stronger and in many cases also thicker than the other one.  These tools were used only for cutting down grain.  The smooth-sided sickle was earlier used for cutting grass, and later was used for harvesting.

Harvesting with the sickle is mostly women’s work, and men seldom participated in it.  The harvester grasped as many stalks as would fit in his hand, and cut it with an upward movement.  The sheaves were always tied by the men, whose task it also was to pile them into stacks.  Harvesting with the sickle has become less important, especially since the 19^th century.

Reaping with scythes
Diósjenő, Nógrád County

The other grain-cutting tool is the scythe.  But while the toothed sickle is a tool used exclusively for cutting cereal crops, the scythe originally was used mowing grass.  The Hungarian scythe is a slightly curving steel blade with a rigid back along its outer edge.  The use of the scythe for harvesting cereal crops dates back to the 16^th and 17^th century.  In the 18^th and 19, it was recommended as a better and more progressive working tool.  Only men worked with the scythe, while women gathered the sheaves.

Originally, scythes were used to cut sheaves in a row, the rows were then pulled together and small stacks, called vontató, were made out of them.  Two or three forkfuls of crops were made to stand with ears upright in the center and the rest stacked around them with the ears outwards.  The stacks were shaped to a point, tied by a rope, and hauled to the threshing barn.  This was the method used for handling spring cereal grains.

When cutting the autumn cereals, a woman or girl followed the cutter with her back to him and gathered the cut grain with a wooden hook or sickle, and laid them on strawbands.  The tied sheaves were stacked in the shape of a cross.  They placed the sheaves into the four sides of the cross in such a way that the ears lay inside on top of each other, while the cut ends pointed outwards.  They laid a sheaf on top of it, called pap (priest).  The number of sheaves in the cross varies by regions.  However, in the Middle Ages they counted with a system of sixty, and so the félkalangya  (half shock of corn) consisted of 15, the kalangya (shock of corn) of 30, and kepe (double schock) of 60 sheaves.

A day of celebration marking the end of the harvest

The conclusion of the harvest was a day of celebration marked by customs and superstitions.  The family that harvested for itself did not put on much of a celebration  at the end of the work.  Among the poorer folk this came about only if they had done the work with mutual help.  The duty of being host was the responsibility of the gazda, master of the house.

The richer farmers would share harvester.  When he first went out to oversee the work, the women and girls tied his legs with rope, and only let him go free if he gave them money, or  promised wine and food.  There was a belief that, if this was not done, the wheat would yield poorly.  A few stalks were left after they finished harvesting, so that storm and showers would not cause damage to the crop in the following year.

Also, girls made a bell-like arrangement of wild flowers and corn with its ears.  In some places corn-dollies were woven in the shape of a spiral or a tablet.  Hanging the garland on a stick, the boys or girls carried it to the yard of the farmer, singing as they went, or accompanied by gypsy music.  There the farmer’s wife sprinkled a few drops of water on the garland, to prevent blight on the next year’s crop, while the leader of the harvesters greeted the farmer with a poem.  They hung the garland on the main beam over the table, and underneath it served lunch or dinner, accompanied by wine.  The harvest ball followed, lasting until midnight, or even dawn.  In many places the harvest garland was preserved until Christmas and then given to the birds, while in other places, they hung up the most beautiful ones in the church or a chapel, or on a roadside cross.

a. Wooden holder for whetstone Hungary b. Corn dolley Gégény, Szabolcs-Szatmár County c. Corn dolley Sárospatak

By Varga Sándor
UHS/EME Controller

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At age 8 or 9, playing in the backyard, I recall that it suddenly occurred to me, and I don’t know why, that my father loved me deeply. This knowledge never left me and has been a source of great comfort.

Like many immigrant men of the WWII generation who left their native land, my father was faced with a series of losses. He lost his homeland, his friends, his way of making a living. The family he was born into was left behind; the world he had known and loved was gone.

I know some of these losses hurt him incredibly. Yet I didn’t hear him complain. Instead he taught us that what matters is not what happens to you but how you react to the events- what kind of person you become. He showed that it was possible to endure, make sacrifices, and still find a measure of happiness.

My father was a faith-filled man, which gave him strength. His example encouraged us, my sister and me, to want to be like him.

He was patient, thoughtful and measured in his responses- teaching us the value of these traits. Honor and decency were embedded in his character. He used the word “becsület” frequently with me – and I never forgot.

He was encouraging, never harshly critical and allowed us to decide our own pathways. He taught us to value education. During my high school years, we helped at his restaurant and  marveled at his capacity to work hard – another unspoken lesson.

Yes indeed, I AM a fortunate son – still striving to emulate my father and his qualities, and hoping they will be passed on to my children and the generations to come.

Elmer L. Meszaros
UHS’s controller

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Since the beginning of love at the first sight, her concerning and worried voice still carries a lot of tender care. Her love is a sunshine that all can remember, which peeks through even the worst thunder coulds that life can throw at you, and it is the rainbow that will guide you through to tranquility, yet one more time.

Mother’s bond will reach across the oceans, at times showing up in a little wrinkeld letter with her hand writing on still, as beads of perl, flowing gently across the white plains of that envelop.

That little white packet holds so much more than just a few thoughts of care, questions and love.

It is a treasure trove again an again, no matter how many times I read it, and miraculously, I can hear her voice reading those lines.

Mother’s Day is here again, an official day to symbolize what we all have in common across nations, languages, cultures and across the planet – we all have a mother. This is yet another day to be thankful and greatful to our mothers. Some of us celebrate this day hugging and kissing our mother, the less fortunate of us remember her with fond memories while carrying the pain of not having the chance to hug her one more time – yet she still consoles us with cheerful memories

I long, long stare at that envelop, holding it carfully, running my fingers through the letters, almost feeling the dimples on the paper where she put the pen down a bit harder to make a point. Those bold letters declaring my name, standing there proudly a little bit above of all other lines, the most important piece – her child. It’s only an addres, you would say, but to me it is a lot more, it is love and her pride. Finally, I look out the window, gaze toward the distant past, across the oceans, and mutter the first thought come to my heart: Edesanyam !

Peter Tapolyai

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Sprinkling

The old tradition is shown on the first two pictures. These photos here show folk costumes that people wear just for special occasions today. Today women wear casual dresses for sprinkling, not folk costumes. Also, men sprinkle with cologne, not with water. A couple of decades ago men poured water on women in rural areas and women changed their clothes after each sprinkling. Boys often dragged girls to the well and poured water on them with pail. Sometimes they washed them in creek.

The possible reason for this very old tradition is that people believed in the cleaning, healing and fertility effect of water.

Easter is a 2-day holiday in Hungary. On Monday boys and men visit all of their women relatives, friends, neighbors, often even if they are not close friends. Boys in small groups, fathers with their sons, or single men leave early in the morning and their “tour” last all day long. They greet girls and women with shorter – longer poems (mostly with a funny poem about “Eastern sprinkling”) and sprinkle them with cologne. Women must be well-prepared, they treat men with dessert and beverages – and with hand-painted eggs. Women usually prepare in the previous days by cleaning up the house thoroughly, decorating, cooking and painting a couple dozen eggs.

There is a competition among young girls – who gets the most “sprinklers” wins. It is a shame if the girl is not ready early morning when the first visitor rings the bell. The result? Women wear more then a dozen of different colognes by Monday evening, and sometimes the alcoholic beverages are harmful for men also. Many times, sprinkling continues on the next day in the working places and we, women wait the evening desperately to wash our hair.

Easter eggs and the Easter bunny

Within the Christian tradition, the custom of dyeing eggs red goes back a thousand years. Red symbolizes the blood of Christ; the egg, eternal life. Other colors began to be used only three hundred years ago. Hungarian Easter eggs are decorated with simple geometric shapes or ornamented with swirls of plants and flowers. Ancient symbols sometimes feature too: the wheel of the sun or the cockscomb, for example. The colorful flowers that adorn so many eggs echo the embroidery on Hungarian national costume. The decoration of Easter eggs is a Hungarian craft in its own right. Wax-resist dyeing is the most popular method: The pattern is painted onto the shell using a quill dipped in molten wax. The egg is dyed, and then warmed slightly to melt off the wax, so that the white, undyed pattern appears.

Engraving, an alternative method, requires the egg to be dyed first. The pattern is then engraved on with a knife. According to how deeply the surface is scratched, a deeper or paler color is revealed. A simple but effective method is to boil onion skins in water; boiling the eggs in this gives them a lovely dark brown color. They are then rubbed with bacon rind skin to give them a sheen.

Pretty, natural patterns in a paler color can be obtained by sticking leaves onto the shells of the eggs before they are boiled. Once the eggs are dyed, the leaves are removed.
Another traditional technique is to decorate blown eggs with tiny metal horseshoes. This requires some dexterity, so is done only by trained craftsmen. The first chocolate eggs arrived on the market at the beginning of the 19th century. The confectioners decorated these eggs lavishly; some creations featured in the local press. One such was a chocolate egg with the picture – likewise executed in chocolate – of the chain bridge then under construction. Built between 1842 and 1849, this was the first fixed bridge over the Danube uniting Buda and Pest.

The Easter rabbit has rather more recent origins; it probably did not reach Hungary until the 20th century. It comes from a German cultural background, and is first mentioned at the end of the 17th century. Unlike the other Easter customs, which are rural in origin, the Easter bunny spread from the town outward.

Easter Meal – Hungarian Easter Tradition

Ham and eggs are traditional fare

For the Hungarian celebration of Easter, the table is richly laden. Alongside slices of fragrant ham, the table is adorned with a braided Easter loaf; there are eggs, boiled in the cooking liquid from the ham, and grated horseradish, served alone or in a vinegar dressing. The accompaniments include mustard, radishes, and young onions. The feast often also includes lamb dishes and nut or poppy-seed cake.

“No Easter meal is complete without ham,” according to tradition. Indeed, Hungarians set great store by the Easter ham. It is sometimes taken to be blessed by the priest after Mass, along with the eggs, horseradish, and braided loaf. On the farm, when a pig is slaughtered, the best ham is reserved for Easter, and cured or smoked with extra care.

Equal care is taken when buying a ham for Easter. The traditional country ham is not the only kind available. Some opt for smoked knuckle; others for a boned and netted ham. This type proves less popular among those conscious of tradition, though it does have a lower fat content.

No festive meal would be complete without the Easter loaf. This is a light yeast bread with a golden brown crust, made in the form of a circular braid. In the Hungarian countryside, people have been baking such a loaf for special occasions for six hundred years. More elegant than standard bread, it is an essential feature at Easter, Christmas, and country weddings. It is made in basically the same way everywhere, with slight regional variations in the dough, and variations in appearance according to the occasion.

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