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This Christmas will not be the same as before. We will be less together this year.
– Answers Antal Dimovocs to the question of how he feels about Christmas this year. For the gypsy family in Baksi, the holiday preparations started already in early December, but they only put it on their souls. The gypsy who had been converted ten years ago had not had a model life in the past, but now faith is part of his daily life. He feels for the words of the man that they have a difficult year behind him, but he is aware that the year has not been easy for anyone, for them, as he himself says, faith has given him strength.
The days around December 24 are filled with anticipation every year. The days leading up to Christmas Eve have different things for everyone. For some families, gifts, shopping, pine, bejgli. For us, on the other hand, it is a period of quiet conversation, of charity, of assistance.
They go where they are called
It is an old tradition among the Roma in Baks that as Christmas approaches, they not only hold a service in the local community’s house, but then cook together or make Christmas decorations. Due to the pandemic, they did not have the opportunity to do so this year, but they are confident that they will be able to attend church again as soon as possible. THE
Members of a Roma congregation of 20 to 25 people
They have been meeting at least once a week for many years, and when the opportunity arises, they organize relationship building programs. For occasions, everyone brings something: flour, sugar, spices, cooking oil, dough, which is then assembled. Based on this, they can compile the packages.
We put it in a bag and take it to the poorest 20-25 families in each settlement and deliver it to them. There were also cases in which children received a gift for the first time. It was incredible to live this
Says Antal Dimovics, one of the key members of the congregation. According to the man, the church does not look at the skin color of the other, since the faith does not depend on the origin, the faith of a gypsy is not different from the faith of any other person.
A full table is a sign of prosperity.
Then, two hundred kilometers to the west, Mária lives in a bag settlement in Somogy. Christmas isn’t easy for Mary and her family either, as after the husband who died a few years ago, they still feel empty about the little house.
I grew up here in town, she brings back her memories. As I recall, my mother and father gave us everything we could.
The woman with the smiling and wrinkled face is happy to inaugurate the gypsy parties, as she says before the holidays, who can do it by cutting pigs, thus ensuring that the chamber is filled.
With us gypsies, since Christmas Eve, we always celebrate somewhere, eat and drink until the day after Christmas. The women began to cook everything that is customary among gypsies: stuffed cabbage, fried meat, garnish … They did many things, and now here it is no different.
Mary emphasizes that it is important that the table is full to the point of collapse, as it was not possible to move on to another year with an empty table.
When relatives came to see us, they had to see that we also had a lot of good. We say that if the table is full, it will be full all year. Christmas is one of the most important holidays for us, everyone is ready for it. Most were also able to borrow so as not to be ashamed.
This year, the gypsy woman did the same. Besides firewood and medicine, little money was spent on preparation. As you drive around the house, there’s not much you can show They spend most of the day in the kitchen. The other two rooms almost fell asleep. Besides the pine installed in one of the cool rooms, it is only clear in the kitchen that it is Christmas. Since morning it has been stirring, cutting, peeling or just baking something without stopping. But he is happy to tell you more about the customs that gypsies once had.
People dressed, took out their most beautiful clothes, whatever they were. It was important that the men put on a suit, a white shirt, to make it look like it was a party. Whoever arrived, after a long greeting, offered the visitors a small drink. The conversation was always led by the husband, the wife’s only job was to provide kinship with food and drink.
The beginning of the ecclesiastical year
These old ways no longer belong to Anita Tóth. As an employee of the National Gypsy Reformed Mission, Advent means the beginning of the ecclesiastical year for him, so it is a very important period for him. He believes this is an excellent opportunity to begin the life of the church.
The preparation begins at the beginning of Advent, mainly in us, of course it is material, we buy pine wood, we bake better, but we live our spiritual life more strongly in this period.
During her work, Anita Tóth considers it an important goal to strengthen the work of the local Roma mission among the Roma. One of the objectives of the Juntos por los otros project is community organization. One of the elements of the program is
TRAINING OF THE DEVELOPMENT STAFF OF THE CONGREGATION,
where Roma and non-Roma church members are trained. Returning later to their own communities, they, along with their local Reformed pastor, help the development of their congregation and settlement.
Community customs
The rapporteur of the national gypsy mission cannot highlight the gypsy customs during the Christmas period that would be characteristic entospecifically of all the Hungarian gypsy. In his opinion, the Roma also adopted the customs of a community,
like singing, which is still a custom in many places to this day.
They leave in small groups in the village for relatives, stop here and there and greet or sing Christmas songs. The singers are then invited to exchange the songs with food and drink. The last stop to visit the kinship used to be the grandparents’ house. According to Anita Tóth, the ancient Hungarian custom has survived to this day in smaller gypsy groups, but the song is no longer known in many places.
The way Roma families celebrate in their homes from December 24 to 26 is very diverse and colorful, as are the celebration customs of non-Roma families.
Their system of Christmas customs is not uniform either, it may differ from one region to another, but even from one family to another. Yet there is something unified that is omnipresent and constant: loving, peaceful and intimate moments in the family that strengthen us and strengthen our togetherness.
In his opinion, overly mystified gypsy customs may be due to the fact that music and entertainment play an important role in the celebrations of many families.
Top image: A child dressed in a nativity scene at a Christmas ceremony in Budapest, organized by the volunteer initiative Letters to Santa, in the VI. District at St. Columba Scottish Presbyterian Church on December 22, 2017. The Letters to Santa initiative has been collecting donations before Christmas for years to purchase gifts for children with social needs. MTI Photo: Zoltán Balogh
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