Agria 42. (Az Egri Múzeum Évkönyve - Annales Musei Agriensis, 2006)

Sári Zsolt: Lakodalom Szihalmon

Zsolt Sári Szihalom Wedding Celebrations By looking at traditions relating to wedding celebrations in the village of Szihalom in Heves County, this study attempts to discover the extent to which the traditions of this community are related to those of the Palóc and Matyó ethnic groups lying in its immediate proximity. The village of Szihalom was already inhabited in the period immediately after the arrival of the Hungarians in 896 AD. As the village was situated on a number of important trade routes it was burnt to the ground during wartime on a number of occasions. For a number of decades it was left uninhabited before serfs fleeing from the village of Balaton in 1632 settled in the village belonging to the Eger Chapter. It is this that explains Szihalom's inclusion among the Palóc villages. The history of the settlement has remained continuous from that time. Bordering the village to the east is Mezőkövesd, the largest of the Matyó settlements, a town with which Szihalom has maintained continual economic, cultural, administrative and social contacts. The habits arising from the contacts between the two ethnographic groups can be found albeit taking on a local form, complete with local variations. 353