William Penn Life, 2009 (44. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2009-11-01 / 11. szám
My Hungarian Christmas Traditions As the Christmas season approaches, I can’t help but to remember the traditions that have been passed on by my grandparents and parents to my siblings and me. Of course, there are the typical American rituals, such as trimming trees, giving gifts and mailing greeting cards, to name just a few. But the truly special and most memorable traditions are those that are Magyar in theme or meaning. I would like to share with you just two of our annual Karácsony celebrations, and how, as we children grew older, we changed and modified those simple activities into more mature revelry. Our family celebrates the season of baby Jesus from the first Sunday of Advent to the Feast of the Three Kings. Since the tender age of 3 or 4, I would listen as my parents and grandparents began this joyous season by reading to us a beautifully written and illustrated book titled, “The Christmas Anna Angel” by author and illustrator Kate Seredy. This wonderful story takes place in war-torn Hungary during Christmas, where in the midst of grief and sadness, a miracle takes place. The story captivated our imaginations. The book’s colorful chalk drawings led my brother, sister and I into a pre-holiday craving for the homemade pastries of my grandma. Of course, it would be several weeks before we were allowed to partake in the sweet, rich and buttery cakes that were available to us only at Christmas (and Easter). As we grew older, the tradition of reading about Anna and the Angel continued, but the oral reading roles were reversed to where we read to our parents and grandparents. Our discussions about the storyline matured just as we did. We would debate historical events that took place during the time of the book. My sister helped my mom as they baked the very cakes and cookies that were mentioned in the story. Now my sister bakes on her own, many times adding her own little secret ingredient to the pastries. It is amazing how the time has flown by since that first time our grandpa read the story to us. As we grew older my parents introduced us to Seredy’s most famous works, The Newbury Award Winning book, “The White Stag”, then “The Good Master” and the sequel “The Singing Tree.” Both my brother and I are history buffs, especially when it comes to Hungarian history. I credit the reading of Seredy’s aforementioned books for establishing the foundation for our insatiable thirst for learning about history. Right around the time of the feast day of St Nicholas (Dec. 6), my family travels to Youngstown for the William Penn Branch Branch 28 Christmas party. The Novak, Schauer and Tollas families, and a supporting cast of several other helpers, put on a really great children’s party. As long as I can remember, we would arrive at the party after doing our Hungarian radio show and enjoy a fraternal feast of great food, the carol singing-yes, we sing such favorites as “Mennyből az Angyal,” “Csordapasztorok” and “Csendes Ej”—and, of course, a visit from Father Christmas (a.k.a. John Tollas). My brother Andrew played his cimbalom in public for the very first time at this party. He is eternally grateful to Kathy Novak for giving him his first break. I’ve mentioned only two of my family’s Hungarian Christmas traditions, but all of our yuletide traditions have helped to leave a mark on my Hungarian identity. In reality, I could have written a short book on my Hungarian Christmas family traditions. A person sometimes has to stop, step back and look at the total picture of their life’s experiences and to savor the flavors of life growing up American- Hungarian style. During the coming season of gift giving, why not begin your own tradition of reading Hungarian themed stories and books. Magyar Marketing in Youngstown offers a large variety of books and stories for children of all ages. You can visit their website at www.magyarmarketing.com, or call them at: 1-800-786-7851. Éljen a Magyar, Tibor Tibor Check Jr. is a member of Branch 28 Youngstown, Ohio, and a freshman at Cleveland State University. He also serves as host of the “Souvenirs of Hungary” weekly radio show broadcast on WKTL-90.7 FM in Struthers, Ohio. 6 William Penn Life, November 2009
