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

mass or in the afternoon, twigs of consecrated pussy willow are taken to the cemetery and placed on the graves of relatives, but also on the graves of those who have no family. At this time, prayers are said for the departed souls suffering in purgatory. Several twigs are placed by the cemetery cross, „for the sufferings of Jesus Christ." In certain places, the willow twigs are taken to the cemetery on Holy Thursday or Good Friday, when the graves are put in order. The consecrated pussy willow is kept until the new consecration. It must not be thrown away, just burnt. X. Holy Thursday Of the last three days of Holy Week, Holy Thursday with the Last Supper is the feast of the institution of the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. On this day, and until the resurrection of Faster Eve, the bells remain silent, and the faithful are reminded of the passing of time by the sound of clappers. In many places, as in Magyarpolány where our film was taken, the Lord's tomb, or the Holy Tomb, is also prepared at this time to the Jerusalem pattern by the members of the Rosary Society. In the first side-chapel on the right hand side, the cover of the predella (the lower section of the altar) is removed, and the statue there, which depicts the body of Christ, is covered with a white sheet, and pots of white flowers are placed in front and to the side. On the altar, above the Holy Tomb, flowers with candles in between are always placed. Beside the altar and between the flowers, flower stands are placed in a line like a wall. Tumbling, green asparagus plants are put on these. The Holy Tomb is prepared every year with great love and dedication. Great care is taken that the decorations should be in proportion, and the composition made up of flowers and green plants should produce an artistic impression in line with the taste and feelings of the congregation. XI. Good Friday Good Friday is a day of mourning for the Christian world, when the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross is remembered in every church and Christian home. In many villages, women used to go at dawn to pray at the stations of the cross. Where there were no stations of the cross, they used to visit the crucifixes in the cemetery for the same purpose. The custom was preserved for the longest in the villages with German minority. Our film was taken in Magyarpolány, where even today the visit to the stations of the cross in the early morning is one of the customs practised. For this occasion, the individual stations are decorated by different families. Three pots or three bouquets of flowers are placed in each one, and three burning candles in each of the two corners. The women set out for the stations at 6 o'clock in the morning, but not alone; there are two or three together, but they are silent today. They begin praying by the Holy Trinity statue next to the