S. Lackovits Emőke: Az egyházi esztendő jeles napjai, ünnepi szokásai a bakonyi és Balaton- felvidéki falvakban (Veszprém, 2000)

Festivals, holidays and customs of the ecclesiastical year

village. They then return to the church, where they finish the ceremony with a Te Deum, a sacramental blessing, and a hymn. Everyone takes a little of the consecrated wheat home, where it is preserved in the prayer book. A few decades ago, they still used to give one or two stalks to the hens, so they would be healthy throughout the year. A small garland used to be made from it, and hung in the window. After it had dried out, it was burnt and the ashes scattered on the arable land. St Florian's day is celebrated on 4 May. Besides in Hungary and Poland, the veneration of Florian has also flourished in the German language territory since the 17th century. They turned to this military saint, who lived in the 3rd-4th century and suffered a martyr's death, for protection against fire, as according to his legend, he saved a burning house, or even a city, with his prayers. He is most frequently depicted raised up over a burning house, as he pours water on the flaming roof. In many villages, a statue to St Florian has been erected, which was painted or whitewashed each year for his festival. In certain villages, including Magyarpolány, his day is an accepted holiday. This has been filmed. The Florian statue of the village stands next to the fire depot, where baskets of flowers are brought on his feast, from which the women weave garlands and make bouquets, using nine différent species of flowers. The statue is encircled with flower garlands, the bouquets are put in vases and placed at the foot of the statue. There are enough flowers to decorate the statue of St. John of Nepomuk too, which has been relocated here. The surroundings are also put in order at this time. The Florian day ceremony begins in the church, where the procession is formed: at the front, the ministrants walk with the crucifix, decorated with flowers, then the priest, after him the firemen, finally the faithful, singing the litany of All Souls. By the statue, prayers, intercessions and songs follow on from one another, then they return singing to the church, where the celebration of St Florian is completed. Until the 1950s, the mass began at 9 o'clock in the morning on this day, after which there was a procession with the priest and the firemen to the statue of the saint, which had been decorated in the early morning by the girls. Here, after the litany, the mediation of Florian was requested against the threat of fire, and for souls suffering in purgatory. The festival came to an end in the church. At the sound of the evening bells, still today, many say one or three Our Fathers and Hail Marys to the honour of Florian, and ask for his mediation for souls suffering in purgatory.