Magyar Hírek, 1984 (37. évfolyam, 2-26. szám)
1984-04-14 / 8. szám
ABOUT THIS ISSUE World-egg — Easter egg Waiting for Easter it makes me feel good to write these weeks about events which serve the cause of peace and understanding among nations. This is one of the reasons why I am pleased to list the Budapest visit of Javier Perez de Cuellar, the General Secretary of UNO in first place among recent events in Hungary. This visit directed attention again to the persistent and untiring efforts made in this part of the world in the interest of the peaceful solution of international problems and the renewal and deepening of East—West dialogue. In a toast at the banquet in Parliament House given in honour of the General Secretary, Prime Minister György Lázár spoke about the continued and concentrated efforts of the Hungarian people in furthering peaceful relations and many-sided cooperation among nations. “The Hungarian People’s Democracy professes”, he said among others, that the continuation of dialogue, the maintenance of contacts between countries of differing social arrangements, have particular significance in the present more acute international political situation. We are convinced that solutions for disputed questions, improvements in the international political atmosphere, and the reduction in armaments can, and will be found.” The General Secretary of UNO rnet, and exchanged views, with many Hungarians. Evidently influenced by these discussions, and what he saw, he said: “Hungary has experienced the ravages of war for centuries, and has seen others denying and ignoring her national existence. Only in our own times the country’s struggle for national selfrealization has achieved its aim. On the basis of all this, the people of Hungary strives for firm peace with particular emphasis.” He said words straight from our hearts, and also particularly timely ones for us at a time, when — to quote Rezső Nyers’s words published in the Hungarian part of the previous issue — “the building of socialism in Hungary . . . arrived at a special stage.” The form of expression may sound dramatic, since what is at issue is not the existence or non-existence of socialism, but the direction and pace of further development; it is however beyond doubt that proceeding further on the course of economic reform — to which Rezső Nyers referred — will decisively influence the life of the country for a long time. One of the principal aims of the reform is — according to Rezső Nyers — to bring about a type of management in Hungarian enterprises more willing and able to assert the philosophy and practice of modern methods, as well as the introduction of a system of control that will promote this. The other main direction is, Nyers argues, to establish better harmony between prices, wages, taxation, credit, and the whole financial system in such a way that this is conducive to greater freedom of action on the part of enterprises. The third requirement is the further development of the internal operations of enterprises in order to improve relations between management and labour, giving everyone an interest in the result of their work. The concept of economic reform is accompanied by social and political reforms. “Today Hungarian policy is open in the respect that it is wellequipped to develop the function of the political institutions in clarifying, confronting and adjusting interests” — Rezső Nyers said —, “including the development of public administration, and the upgrading of the role of parliament. All of these envelop the concept of the economic reform which if I may put it that way, may thus become even more of a reform of the whole of society, than the 1963 reform.” Sándor Körösi Csorna, the 19th century Hungarian orientalist, the compiler of the first Tibetan—English dictionary, and Tibetan grammar, the bi-centenary of whose birth was celebrated this year. Professor Tibor Huszár had discussions with major personalities of the Hungarian intellectual life, who for one reason or an other live in foreign countries, from Zoltán Szabó to László Cs. Szabó. The discussions analysing problems of the distant, and not so distant, past and the present were recently published in book form by Magvető. A review of the book written by Miklós Szántó is published in the Hungarian part of the previous issue. Finally here is an Easter thought. There is an article about the Matthias Church in Buda Castle in the Hungarian section of this issue. This church could almost be a symbol of historical Budapest, it has seen so many changes, survived so many perils during the seven centuries since its foundations were laid. Its official name is the Church of the Assumption Our Lady. It is popularly called Matthias Church, because its Southern tower was built by King Matthias Hunyadi, whose coat of arms showing the raven is still there. The church was the scene of many coronations: Caroberto, the first of the line of Anjou kings of Hungary was crowned here, and so was Charles IV, the last of the Habsburg rulers. King Béla III, and his wife, Anne de Chätillon are buried within these walls, and King Matthias led to the altar here first Katalin Podiebrad, then, after her death, Beatrix of Aragon. Frigyes Schulek restored the church at the end of the 19th century. After the Second World War, the church was again restored with much care and hard work. The Easter bells will sound now in Matthias Church resplendent in its old beauty. The transformation of the ancient myth that attributed the development of the world to a world-egg into the symbol of the resurrection of Christ, the Easter egg, took many centuries. There are numerous archeological finds from various explorations to prove that the earlier myth had its roots in magic superstitions held long before Christianity. Eggs decorated with scratched in motives were found, for instance, in Avar graves in Hungary, painted ones from 320 A.D. near Worms, or imitation eggs made of precious materials at excavations near the Silisian town of Opole. The Church blessed Easter eggs since the 4th century, and in the 12th century it officially introduced the blessing of the Easter egg symbolizing the resurrected Christ. The decoration of eggs with various folk-art motifs in order to use them as gifts is not a Hungarian speciality. Adding embellished eggs to Easter greetings has been part of the Easter customs in the Eastern half of Europe as well as in numerous Central and West European countries. But while people in other countries simply dyed Easter eggs a single colour, or coloured them with merging patterns in a batik-like manner, the motifs used for decorating eggs as well as the techniques of the decoration were varied in Hungary. There is a particularly beautiful variety of decorated eggs the himes (“embroidered”) eggs. Patterns reminiscent of ornaments used on pottery objects are drawn on the shell of boiled eggs, or on empty shells, the contents of which were blown through fine metal tubes, or the hollow stem of bird feathers dipped into hot bees’ wax. Eggs prepared this way are then immersed in concentrated dye until it completely dyes the surface. When the surface is dry, the hardened wax is peeled off, and the pattern emerges in eggshell colour. Decorating by scratching also requires considerable dexterity. This technique involves the scratching of the geometric or flower patterns into the shell dyed dark blue, red or yellow with the sharp point of a knife, or a needle. Pingált (painted) eggs are fashionable in the Kalocsa district. The stylized flower motifs characteristically shaded in the Kalocsa manner are brushed onto the shell, using either tempera, or water-colours. The eggs are then coated with beaten white of egg to make the painting last, and this dries onto the pattern giving a light sheen. Another variation of decorating eggs is made with leaves of interesting patterns. These are fastened around the shell, and when the eggs are dyed, they display the negative patterns chosen. Coloured eggs onto which words, bouquets and garlands were etched with acid used to be customary in the Western border districts of Hungary as love tokens. The pinnacle of egg-decoration is patkolás (horseshoeing). The decoration, that follows the shape of the egg is beaten out in advance in easily worked metal wire and metal leaf, then “shoed” onto the fragile shell without even scratching it. This virtuosity is, unlike the other methods of decoration, always done by men. Painting eggs is a pastime for women. The decorated Easter eggs are the customary due of young men for spraying the girls with scent on Easter Monday. The custom of locsolkodás (spraying the girls) is still customary even amongst young unmarried adults though small boys are these days keenest on it visiting girlfriends and female relatives on Easter Monday collecting chocolate eggs as a reward. Egg-painting still survives as a folk art and thrives for its own sake. Agnes nyerges The World-egg. Sculpture by Tamás Ortutay - in Helsinki, Finland PHOTO: ISTVÁN RACZ 28
