Advent in Hungary: Waiting for Christmas

Advent is for “arrival”

The word Advent comes from Latin, and it got shortened from “adventus Domini”, meaning “the arrival of the Lord”. In Christian tradition, it denotes the period of 4 weeks leading up to Christmas when the birth of Jesus Christ is celebrated. Ever since its introduction around the 5^th century, when Christmas gained prominence among Christian festivities, Advent was supposed to be a period of quiet contemplation, repentance, and joyful anticipation. In line with this, the Advent period used to include days of fasting, and noisy merrymaking used to be forbidden – there were no parties, weddings, and even taverns took in only travelers, but not the regular lively crowd. This is not really the case in modern times, since the second half of the 20^th century, however.

Around cities, Advent is most visible in its joyful anticipation of Christmas. Lamp posts will be decorated with festive lights, and Christmas markets will pop up around town selling artisanal goods, warm clothes, chimney cakes, mulled wine, and various other items. Christmas trees are always part of the decoration, but you might also see nativity scenes here and there, set up at Christmas markets or in front of churches.

Advent and Santa Claus

Please note that in Hungary, Advent is the waiting period before the arrival of Jesus Christ, and when Christmas comes, it is the baby Jesus who brings gifts to children with the help of his angels. Santa Claus is not part of the Christmas tradition, although Santa Claus is not unknown here either. He has a celebration of his own: he comes around on the night of December 5 to distribute gifts to children, rewarding the nice and scolding the naughty. You can read more about this here.

The four Sundays of Advent

Advent starts on the 4^th Sunday before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve. The most notable days are the four Sundays, which have special meaning, and in Roman Catholic tradition, special patrons:

• 1^st Sunday of Advent: representing faith, with Adam and Eve as its patrons, who were first promised salvation
• 2^nd Sunday of Advent: Bronze Sunday, representing hope, with the Jews as its patrons, who were promised to be the people of the Messiah
• 3^rd Sunday of Advent: Silver Sunday, or Gaudete Sunday, representing joy, with Holy Mary as its patron, who gave birth to the Son
• 4^th Sunday of Advent: Golden Sunday, representing love, with John the Baptist as its patron, who made ready a people prepared for the Lord

In 2025, the Advent period starts on November 30, the 1^st Sunday of Advent.

Advent wreath

The most iconic symbol of the Advent period is the Advent wreath. It is a wreath made of evergreens decorated with 4 (or sometimes 5) candles. Additional decorative elements may include pinecones, hollies or similar winter berries, and even Christmas ornaments. Each Sunday, a new candle is supposed to be lit, usually during the family lunch or dinner, or any family time spent together. If the wreath has a 5^th candle as well, that is lit on Christmas Eve, and it represents Jesus Christ. In line with this, new Advent wreaths often have candles of different heights – because the first candle will be lit the longest, etc. You can normally buy Advent wreaths at stores, at florists, or make your own at home or at dedicated workshops.

The 4 candles represent the 4 Sundays of the period. Colors may vary, but Advent wreaths made by protestant denominations often have red candles, while the traditional arrangement for Catholics is 3 purple and 1 pink candle. Catholic priests should wear purple vestments during Advent masses, representing repentance and discipline. The 3^rd Sunday, however, celebrates the imminent arrival of the Lord with the prayer “Gaudete in Domino” (meaning “be happy for the Lord”), and this joy is represented by the color pink. In line with this, the pink candle is supposed to be lit third, on Silver Sunday.

The tradition of the Advent wreath can be traced back to 16^th century Germany, although the current version originates from the wreath made by Johann Hinrich Wichern Lutheran pastor in a German children’s home in the middle of the 19^th century. His wreath was bigger, and held 24 candles for each day of Advent, though. Later this was reduced to just 4 candles representing the 4 Sundays, and the tradition spread to other denominations and to family homes around the 1930s.

Advent calendar

The Advent calendar is some kind of box or package that has 24 compartments to offer the owner small gifts for each day of December, from the 1^st through the 24^th, Christmas Eve. The most popular and easy to access versions are made for children, with small pieces of chocolate behind numbered windows. The pieces of chocolate are shaped to remind of winter and Christmas-themed items, such as sleighs, snowflakes, candy canes, or various toys. Of course, there are variants made for adults too, hiding fancy chocolate, cosmetics, or even small bottles of alcoholic beverages. You can also make your own Advent calendar as a gift to a close friend or family member, made up of small boxes or pockets or sachets, and filled with small presents they can enjoy each day.

The concept originates from early 20^th century Germany. In those early times, the Advent calendar held small religious images or quotes. It was usually a box or a tray with drawers or slots for each day of the Advent period, but later December 1 became generally accepted as Day 1 of the calendar.

Enjoy the Advent period in Hungary

If you are in Hungary during the Advent period, you can most easily get into the holiday spirit if you visit a Christmas market. Take a look at the wares, marvel at the Christmas lights and light shows, listen to the festive music, and try some mulled wine. At home, you can also put on some Christmas lights, start a Christmas playlist, and browse recipes of Christmas cookies.

How do you like the Hungarian way of Christmas preparations? If you have Hungarian heritage, you might be eligible for Hungarian citizenship, through which you may gain access to EU privileges, such as visa-free travel to 180+ countries around the world. We can help you with the entire application procedure, and you can start the process by filling in our short, free, online test that lets you determine if this is something relevant to you.