The Busójárás holiday is a carnival procession, which at the same time means the end of minced meat, the farewell to winter and the beginning of Lent.
The Busójárás holiday is a carnival procession, which at the same time means the end of minced meat, the farewell to winter and the beginning of Lent. The holiday takes place in one single city - Mohacs (located 190 km from Budapest, in the South Transdanubia region). Usually it attracts a lot of tourists, and every inhabitant of this small town simply considers it his duty to take part in the procession of mummers. This year, the Busójárás holiday takes place from February 16 to February 21.
Due to its geographical location, the city is very multinational. Hungarians, Swabians (Germans), Serbs and Croats have long lived in peace and harmony on these lands. Buójárás (Bushar's walk) was invented by the Croats-Skocs, this is the only reliable fact, but there are many legends about the tradition itself. The most popular is about the opposition of local residents to the Turkish occupation. It says that fleeing from the invaders, the Mohacs left the city and hid in the nearby swamps and forests. One night, an old shkots came out to the people sitting around the fire and urged the men to prepare masks of monsters, arm themselves and wait for the signal to attack. Everyone did just that, and one night, when a terrible storm broke out over the city, people in masks rushed into the city, frightened the Turks so much with noise and a frightening appearance that they, fleeing from the “demons”, left the city in horror and haste. Although many ethnographers believe that this holiday is more ancient, and that bushars scared away winter with masks and ritual dances. Be that as it may, the tradition has remained, and we can only admire the versatility of the history and culture of our beloved Hungary.
