Easter has come to an end and the celebrations ended, just as another celebration began :) (my big 2-7 birthday)
The Easter season began on Palm Sunday or "Virág Vasárnap" (Flower Sunday) with a church service and the traditional dancing with palm leaves and "Hallelujah"s. I had honestly forgotten which Sunday it was until I got to church that morning.
Then at work that week, we decorated eggs with paint and beads. I have never felt so creative in my life :P Also, there was one egg that I decorated with the help of Zita, a three year old girl :)
On Maundy Thursday, (which is named for the last commandment that Jesus gave us after his last supper), we gathered at church and partook of the Communion elements. It was a nice, intimate service, but very meaningful.
On Good Friday, there was no school or work for any of my flatmates. Because of this, everyone started to do some traveling. That evening, we had a worship service that became dark, which was nice since that's what we do in the states. There was also a couple people that performed a saxophone duet (Aaron and I) with "Were You There?" It was fun to arrange music and play again.
On Saturday, I welcomed some American couchsurfers into my home (www.couchsurfing.com). Diana and Greg came while on vacation from school in Germany. Alen came while on vacation from school in London. All of them were originally from California and it was fun to show some fellow Americans around my city. Plus, there was a big pillow fight in the center of Budapest, so we went and participated in that.
On Sunday morning, we awoke to the sound of church bells. Our Easter celebration included a potluck lunch, which was DELICIOUS. It's great to have a potluck here because everything is a specialty from different countries (US, Poland, Hungary, Iraq, etc). After church, Matt and Kristen invited me and my couchsurfers to the boys' flat for an American Easter dinner (complete with ham and french fries). So, Alen and I joined them and it was a great way to finish "Easter Weekend".
But wait! There's more! Easter doesn't end on Sunday here. All of the businesses are closed and the celebration continues as "Wet Monday". It's tradition for boys to visit girls, say a rhyme and pour water or perfume on their heads. Luckily, I avoided this by hanging out with Alen, who had no knowledge of this tradition. We headed to an outdoor museum and saw some Hungarian heritage homes from various regions in Hungary.
Quite a weekend, and yet, wait until I tell you what I did the next week. However, that's for another time.
As a cliffhanger...
Blessings to you from Slovakia!
~Trazy
*~*~*
Szent Istvan Basilika was built between 1851 and 1905 in honor of St. Stephen, the first king of the Kingdom of Hungary.
A view of the inside:
then we decided to climb up some stairs to see the look-out in the top of the cathedral.
364 stairs later...
this is my city :)
Also in this cathedral/basilica, is the mummified right hand ("The Holy Right") of St. Stephen, but every time I go to check it out, something is happening in the church that prevents me from viewing it. This particular time was a funeral in the Chapel of the Holy Right. Maybe next time :)
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