Another post was looking for a place to go in August and that reminded me of a trip report I never did (I am just an extended tourist here):
20 August is St. Stephens Day in Hungary and The Feast Day of St. Stephen of Hungary in the Catholic Church.
https://youtu.be/PY2yOqmlrpk?si=Pvl1BZShyCUTC3Zj
The Magyar tribes led by a guy named Árpád (still a popular name in Hungary) arrived from beyond the Ural Mountains in 896 but remained tribal until sometime between 25 December 1000 and 1 January 1001 Saint Stephen (Szent István) became the King Saint Stephen (Szent István király); the first king of Hungary. It was St. Stephne that made Hungarian a Catholic nation, and it is this date that is recognized as the start of the nation.
St. Stephen’s mummified hand can be seen in St. Stephens Basilica https://www.facebook.com/reel/2436243136738665
The founding of the kingdom is a big deal for Hungarians and so his feast day became a substantial holiday and today I believe it must be among the handful of greatest experiences in Europe each year; and yet it remains under the radar for most tourists. I think the Hungarian like it that way.
My “trip report”
Leading up to the day is the Festival of Folk Arts at the Buda Castle and along the riverfront road in Buda near the Castle Gardens. https://mestersegekunnepe.hu/english/. Think Christmas Markets in August, but I will have to say that the quality and “Hungarian-ness” of what is being sold is somewhat better than the Christmas Markets and that says a lot based on the reviews that the Christmas Markets get. Craftwork from all over the country, food, music and stage shows. https://youtu.be/jOzlMOERXCk?si=UDyW1u93bc6Of5_X
Because of the markets and the spectators and the preparations for the evening of the 20th of August, for several days prior to the 20th the trams that run the riverbank in both Pest and Buda are taken out of service. But the metro still runs as do the buses one or two blocks in from the river so getting around is still not difficult.
On the 20th, the Feast Day, the Holy Right Hand of St Stephen is taken out of the Basilica in procession ending in Mass being held of the front steps of the Basilica. https://youtu.be/QFrhTxf9RQU?si=u73oJVwSFLXIVZr4
Then the fun begins. Nearly 2km of the riverbank on both sides of the river between the Margrit Island Bridge and the Elizabeth Bridge is wired for sound and this becomes the viewing locations for the evening show. If there is a more beautiful or more impressive fireworks / light show / drone show display in Europe please post it because these are the moments of travel that make memories. Looking from Buda: https://youtu.be/PY2yOqmlrpk?si=Pvl1BZShyCUTC3Zj If you turn the volume up you can hear the narration. It’s a Hungarian history lesson. Not shown in much detail in the video are the light shows on the buildings that depict scenes from Hungarian history that coincides with the audio.
After the show the walk home is generally uneventful. The attendance is huge but in the three times that I have been here for this I have never seen any trouble at all. The crowd is more than half Hungarian and Hungarians despite all their other shortcomings are a very orderly race.