Szent Istvan's Day

So, I've mentioned St. Stephen (Istvan in Hungarian) a lot in this blog already. He was the great-great-grandson of the chieftain who initially led the Hungarian tribes into the Carpathian basin. (See two blogs ago, the guys around the column who looked like the Nazgul.) The pope sent St. Stephen a crown for his coronation as Hungary's first Christian king in the year 1000, the effective birthdate of the Hungarian nation. (This was reenacted in front of the parliament building, see above.) This crown is on display in the parliament building, and the US kept it safe during the 20th century in Fort Knox.

Today, Hungary celebrated St. Stephen in many, many ways. The streets were mobbed, and every square was over-run with a different kind of spectacle. I didn't even see half of it. One big thing I missed was the outdoor mass held in front of St. Stephen's basilica (the largest in Hungary, pictured), which I understand ends with a parade where his mummified hand is carried around the church.

However, I did see trick cyclists, breakdancers, far-right political orators, medieval impersonators, Brazilian percussionists and (per usual) marimba street performers. The finals of the Red Bull Air Show happened as well, and 600,000 people lined the banks of the Danube to see them. The end of the day was capped off with a massive fireworks display, with fireworks being launched from multiple bridges, the middle of the river and the Citadel (atop one of the Buda hills).

One final pic to leave you with: Yes, you are witnessing a scene from the "Pied Piper." This is a parade of children walking underneath the stilts of costumed men. Fittingly, the second man is playing a pipe. As you might imagine, the children are being led by a guy who is dressed to look like a centaur (also on stilts).