Dent, Bob: Budapest for Children - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1992)
2. Balloons and Fireworks - Holidays and Festivities
2. BALLOONS AND FIREWORKS Holidays and Festivities Farsang “Farsang” is the season marking the end of winter and involves balls, dinners and special dressing-up events for nursery and school children. If you know any Hungarians it could be fun to get yourself an invitation to a school event. Recent years have seen a revival of public events in Budapest, including a carnival, fancy- dress street parade, open-air music, etc. It takes place on a week-end, but the exact date varies—the season ending with Ash Wednesday at the beginning of Lent. March 15th A national holiday marking the anniversary of the Hungarian uprising against Austria in 1848. Often labelled a youth day (because of the youth of Pest and the youthful poet Sándor Petőfi led the way in ’48) it is usually marked by rather serious political content. Nevertheless there are always several spectacles to observe, sometimes involving young people. Places to keep an eye on are Kossuth tér by parliament (very formal), the Petőfi statue in Március 15 tér by the Pest
