Hungarian Conservative

‘For our children, the mother tongue is a means and an opportunity for fulfilment and self-fulfilment. In the words of György Bessenyei: “Every nation becomes a scholar in its own language, but never in a foreign one.”’ Read Luke Larson’s interview with Hungarian-language school principal Berta Katona-Mironova on the situation of Hungarian-language education in Ukraine.

Visitors of the city can attend a months-long series of events celebrating the golden age of the Hungarian Renaissance, including period-authentic exhibitions and culinary programmes, and can also take part in period craft workshops.

Although the legendary Hungarian footballer was born on 1 April 1927, he always celebrated his birthday on 2 April, as he did not like the fact that it happened to fall on April Fools’ Day. He captained the legendary Mighty Magyar side of the 1950s, leading them to an Olympic gold and a World Cup final. He won the European Cup with Real Madrid three times, scoring four goals in the 1960 final—a record unbroken since.

This year’s horse racing season kicks off on Easter Sunday at Kincsem Park with eight races, starting with galloping. Besides horse races, various themed events also await visitors throughout spring and summer.

‘As a PhD student, I was very shocked to see that Harvard has had chairs of all sorts of relatively small nationalities (Slovak, Greek, Ukrainian, and so on), except Hungarian. These departments and chairs can only be created through international cooperation and the involvement of the business world, that is would need advocacy and money. We would need Hungarian academic departments and Hungarian professors in North America again.’

Diaspora Higher Education Scholar Oliver Zrínyi, who is currently studying in Pécs, Hungary, talks about his Hungarian roots, his passion for music, and his future plan of living and working in Hungary.

Throughout the years, Hungary has produced a cornucopia of iconic, memorable cartoons, for both film and television, such as Marcell Jankovics’s TV series Magyar Népmesék (Hungarian Folk Tales, 1980–2012), or Béla Ternovszky’s animated feature comedy Macskafogó (Cat City, 1986).

Sándor Kereki took these intriguing photos as a teenager, and they remained unpublished for decades.

Ferenc Deák, the primary facilitator of the Austro–Hungarian Compromise of 1867, the country’s first Minister of Justice, and the namesake of so many public spaces and institutions in Hungary today, passed away 148 years ago on this day.

Kincsem won all 54 races she ran, a record that holds to this day. However, as a filly, she was never sold because of her plain looks—which ended up greatly benefitting her owner Ernő Blaskovich.

‘The resilience and admirable community involvement of the Hungarian Americans showcased in this publication—by which they essentially became the guarantee of the persistence of the Hungarian-American community—can serve as an example, inspiration, and reassurance for us all,’ Ildikó Antal-Ferencz wrote in the author’s note for her book.

Réka Sundem is a young Hungarian American proud of her mixed heritage. Brought up in a household where Hungarian was spoken on a daily basis, she decided to apply for a Balassi Scholarship and spent a whole year in Hungary, learning about Hungarian culture and improving her language skills.

Hungary won their Euro 2024 qualifying group unbeaten and ended the entire year without losing a single game. The National Team gave very little opportunity for the small minority of contrarians, actively rooting against them, to gloat.

Securing a spot in the 2024 UEFA European Championship marks a historic achievement for the Hungarian national football team, as it is the first time since the memorable 1985 campaign that they have qualified for a major tournament without the need for playoffs.

‘We are very lucky to have a building, a home, which belongs to every Hungarian person and organization. I started to encourage the small communities to participate in our events or use the building for theirs. We aim to become a community centre, a hub for all Hungarians and friends of Hungary.’

The German version of the travel blog Weloveholidays has compiled the nine most popular castles in Europe, based on Instagram posts and TripAdvisor reviews, for the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company’s foundation. The Buda Castle ended up being ranked #8.

‘If you are a Hungarian, then I think you have a duty to conserve Hungarian culture. And there is certain music that is native to Hungary. If you’re an Austrian, or a German, then really the most important people in your musical culture are Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, these names.’

The event, spanning two weekends, will be hosted by the cinemas operated by the municipality located in the two major city neighbourhoods. On 11–12 November, children can watch Hungarian cartoons at the Dacia Cinema, while on 18–19 November, it will be the Marasti Cinema’s turn.

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó of Hungary took part in the inaugural ceremony for Astana’s newly renamed Petőfi Street, calling the gesture a profound sign of respect from the Kazakh people towards Hungary.

5,500 photographers, amateurs and professionals alike, submitted a total of 44,000 images to this year’s Hungary 365 photo contest, more than ever before. Winners will be awarded in five different categories this year.

Gábor Margittai and Anita Major, in charge of the new MCC Institute, talked about their prior research into people with Hungarian ancestry living in different parts on the world; as well as their plans for the new research centre. Meanwhile, MCC has also opened a new campus in Dunaszerdahely (Dunajská Streda), Slovakia.

Jankovics, best known for creating the classic animated TV series Hungarian Folk Tales (Magyar Népmesék, 1980–2012), was born 81 years ago today. This piece celebrates the long and illustrious career of the great Hungarian cartoonist and film director.

The Hungarian Football National Team can secure a place at the Euro 2024 in Germany as early as tonight if they manage to beat Lithuania, which they are well positioned to do.

The question of a language strategy, and the need thereof, are important and highly debated topics in linguistics these days. Linguist, university professor Géza Balázs contributes to this debate with an insightful essay in the recent issue of conservative journal Kommentár.

The first documented piece of Hungarian music dates back to the 11th century, thus recorded melodies have been an important part of Hungarians’ lives for a thousand years.

We are familiar with the phenomenon of Westerners embracing Eastern fighting traditions such as Wushu, Aikido, Japanese fencing, Filipino martial arts, and more. These people seek some rich traditions to connect to, and oftentimes romanticize them as being spiritually superior to the Western martial arts. Whereas there is nothing wrong with getting acquainted with other cultures, there’s no necessity to travel half of the globe in search of intricate, deep, and time-tested martial traditions spanning centuries.

The Italian-born sportsman received his Certificate of Citizenship from President Katalin Novák at the Sándor Palace. With Rossi’s leadership, the National Team has achieved outstanding results, such as beating England 4–0 in the Nations League.

‘Hungary is a literal crossroads nation between Europe and Asia due to its geography and culture. It exists on the edge of Western civilization, as can be seen in Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations. In his book, “east” of the Hungarian People starts what he describes as the distinct Orthodox civilization, and nearby also lies the Islamic civilization. Even though Hungary is now a part of the West, it still has links to the East, which is most notable through language as well as cultural origins and heritage.’

By incorporating elements of Hungarian culture and language into Star Wars, the creators have added another layer of depth and richness to the already vibrant universe.