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Carnival is the time for cheer, characterized by cheerful feasts, balls, parties and folk festivals. From 10th to 23rd of February, the XIX. Masquerade of Debrecen will help us drive the winter blues away and offer us a range of colourful programs to take part in.

In Debrecen and Hungary, Valentines Day is referred to as ’Bálint Nap’ or Valentin’Day.  Its roots lie in both ancient Greek and Roman beliefs. The ancient Greeks celebrated the Goddess Juno on the 14th February, whom legend has it blessed weddings with fertility for the coming spring.  Similarly, the Roman’s celebrated ’Lupercalia’ on Valentine’s day, again the same motives were at play, spring and fertility.  The symbols of Valentines Day, including Cupid, the God of love with his bow and arrow, roses and doves are universal, thus have the same appeal in Hungary as elsewhere.

Today, in Debrecen, Valentine’s day is celebrated through the gift of flowers and good food with popular restaurant dishes including the Hungarian favourites, Duck liver, Salmon, Veal, beef tenderloin with the typical side dishes.  

Magda Szabó is a daughter of Debrecen, born and raised, she attended school here and graduated from the University of Debrecen in 1940 as a teacher of Latin and Hungarian.  She began her life as a teacher at a protestant girl’s boarding school in Debrecen and then later worked for the Hungarian Government in the Ministry of Religion and Education.  

Like all great works of literature, Magda Szabo’s story in part reflects her personal experience in life, in the case of the story, ’Abigail’ her youth, -growing up during the war is mirrored in her words and the experience of the character, as is her experience of a strict, religious boarding school environment she used to teach in.

Written in 1970, Abigail has since been turned into both a TV series and a musical.  For non-Hungarians, reading this book is an instant ice breaker for relations with Hungarians, and is a window into the lives of Hungarians living under Nazi occupation.

If you know of Debrecen, even just a little, you would most probably think of images of the impressive Great Reformed Church dominating the central Kossuth Square and the Art Deco and socialism period buildings surrounding it. However, there is much more to Debrecen, so much to discover and celebrate in History. 

See some of the most famous days to celebrate in Debrecen’s past:

• On the 11th January 1860 – After the uprising in 1848, began a long period of repression of the Hungarian peoples by the Vienna government.  The protestant church was singled out for extensive measures referred to as the “Protestant Patent” which were designed to weaken the power base of the protestant movement. The members of the Protestant parish assembly held in Debrecen on January 11th 1860 rejected the Protestant Patent a move which ultimately led to a change in direction by the Austrians and May 15, 1860, the royal manuscript arrived, restoring the church to its pre- 1848 status.

“Your city is perfect only if it has a spa,” said Abu Syr, the Arab historian.

A possible explanation for the origin of the word “spa” is the healing power of water. Debrecen is indeed fortunate with aplenty of spas!  Historically, the spa experience in Europe was centered on the “bath culture”, a patient would spend a few days or weeks in center like Debrecen using medicinal waters to treat or prevent certain illnesses.

In the 1950s, the spa experience was interpreted as a clinical activity but were rebranded as “beauty farms” took over later, using a variety of medicinal water therapies, along with strict exercise and diet.

Today, the modern spa experience is a pampering and pleasant stay in Debrecen and in a beautiful environment with healthy and tasty food. Water is still an important component of the spa experience, but the modern spa provides health services for body and soul.

In Debrecen, you can choose from spa treatments, “lifestyle programs”, and relaxing experiences in a wide range of spa and wellness hotels a selection of which are below.

With the arrival of winter, the ice rink opens in Debrecen, in the past, ice skating was available on Gábor Oláh Street. It was a fantastic experience to skate out there in the morning sun or under the evening starry sky, or even in the snow.

When the weather got really cold, winter lovers would ice skate on the frozen Békás Lake in the Great Forest Park or on the Lake “Csónakázó” (it is the lake in front of the stadium). The ice rink on Gábor Oláh Street was finally closed in 2013, after being declared outdated and not up to standard. Instead, winter sports lovers could ice skate on a track set up in front of the Great Church.

Today, we can ice skate in Jégcsarnok or in the mobile ice rink by the Stadium. 

On November 29, 2014, the leadership of Debrecen began an annual tradition of unveiling the classic white and red wines to be labelled “Wines of Debrecen” at an event know as “Bormustra”. Today, these award-winning wines are used by the municipality for city events and international delegations and served in several local restaurants. 

Each year a jury of professional and social delegates select the wine of the winning wineries in the annual Bormustra competition. The event is organized by the editorial staff of the magazine “Debreceni Borozó” and this year took place on December 16 at the Hotel Lycium. 

The jury comprised of winemakers and social delegates including experts such as Dr. Attila Fiáth, professor, international wine academician, Dr. József Kosárka, international wine academic, the ambassador of the world wines and Dr. Tibor Kovács, associate professor and director of the Research Institute for Viticulture and Oenology, Tokaj.

Born into a Jewish family in Berlin in 1920, Helmut Newton was a German-Australian photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-and-white photos were a mainstay of Vogue and other publications. When looking at Helmut Newton’s photographs, it is often unclear where reality ends and where the “show” begins. He combines different elements in his photographs to create an embarrassing play of power and seduction with an incredible aesthetic sense.

As a great fashion photographer, he redefined the spirit of the times; his purpose was to tell exciting and surprising stories through pictures. He focused mostly on women – Paloma Picasso, Catherine Deneuve, Liz Taylor, Carla Bruni – but the interaction between men and women is a recurring theme in his footage.

In the late years, Newton also worked for German, American, Italian, French and Russian Vogue, primarily in and around Monte Carlo. It is impossible to categorize his work of more than five decades. In his pictures, he combined elegance and style. His oeuvre is not only unique but also inimitable.

A new exhibition entitled “Endless Ends” can be seen in the Vojtina Puppet Theater. The exhibition features the work of Gábor Michac, the set, costume and puppet designer. 

The young artist graduated from the Faculty of Art of the University of Kaposvár in 2010. Since then his work has been used in a number of theatrical and visual productions, – too numerous to count. 

Gábor’s design is impressive: passionate, luxurious and at times minimalist. His figures are formative and articulate with bold visuality. This season, he also co-designed two plays, “„A Csizmadia, a Szélkirály és a Nyúlpásztor esete” (“The Case of the Boots, The King of the Wind, and the Rabbit Shepherd” and the “„A libapásztorlány” (“The Goose Shepherd”). 

The exhibition entitled “Endless Ends” is the 99th exhibition of the Vojtina Puppet Theater that is open to the public.

The exhibition opens on the 19th November and continues to January 12th, 2020, from 8 am to 5 pm on weekdays and from 9 am to 12 pm on weekends.

In the 13th Century, St. Andrew Church, built by Dósa family stood in the place of today’s Reformed Great Church. In the 16th century the St. Andrew Church was destroyed in a fire and rebuilt in gothic style. Unfortunately, it was also completely destroyed in the Great Fire of Debrecen of 1802, and a new church had to be built for the Reformed believers in the city. According to the plans of architect Mihály Péchy, the construction work of today’s church known as The Reformed Great Church of Debrecen began in 1805 and was completed in 1827.

The Reformed Great Church of Debrecen is the largest Reformed church in Hungary and is the most iconic building of the city and is a sight of great importance for the Hungarian Reformed Church. Built-in the neoclassical style, the church can seat nearly two thousand people. 

The Reformed Great Church of Debrecen is not only an ecclesiastical but also an important historical and cultural site where Lajos Kossuth read the Declaration of Independence on April 14, 1849. In 1991, II. Pope John Paul also served in the Reformed Great Church of Debrecen before wreathing a galley sculpture in the Memorial Garden.

The first worship was held in the Reformed Great Church two hundred years ago, on November 24, 1819.