Szabadfalvi József szerk.: Néprajzi tanulmányok a Zempléni-hegyvidékről (A miskolci Herman Ottó Múzeum néprajzi kiadványai 10. Miskolc, 1965)

Niedermüller Péter: Kalendáris szokások a Zempléni-hegyvidék falvaiban

most variable field, the calendar customs. One of the most characteristic features of the presented material is its manifoldedness. The richest period of the year, conserning the custom events, is the autumn-winter period, the time of rest after the agricultural works. The richest group of customs is represented, both from formal and contential point of view, by love fortune telling and different forms of charming. Besides the generally known methods fortune telling from blossoming branch has especially rich traditions. The custom of the Luca-stool making is also spread, though only in the form of belief stories. The Christmas circle has several important moments beside the generally known Christmas carol singing anf chanting; such are, for example, the requisits of the Christmas table, the Christmas hay and straw and their usage, the Christmas tree hanging from the corner of the room, etc. The custom born from the unition of spinster mocking and the turning of the pure herd at the time of New Year's Eve also belongs to this circle. The carnival customs are a bit poorer, they are occasional masquerades. The spring circle is characterised first of all by religious customs (blessing of the candles and of wheat). The most outstanding event of the period is the Easter, and the Holy week preceding it, and also the setting of the May-tree, which is carried out in this region at Whitsun. There are no important customs in summer, the summer being the time of the most important and the heaviest agricultural works. The occasionality seems to be the most important characteristic of the calendar customs of the Zemplén mountains, that can be explained by its special setting between three large units of custom traditions. On the west there are Roman Catholic palóc areas with Hungarian populations. On the north Roman and Greek catholic Slavic populations (Slovakians and Ukrainians and also indirectly Polish populations) are living, while the eastern neighbours are the Calvinist Hungarians of the Szatmár-Transylvanian lowlands. Thus some of the customs of these territories could get and be added to the custom system of the Zemplén mountains. It means in the same time that the practice of a certain custom is not attached only to one population. The heap of customs with different historical background built up, in course of public practice, a special system in itself, independent from the different population groups. Péter Niedermüller 235