family and youth events

St Martin's Day

no interval
Festival Theatre
  • Produced by Müpa Budapest
  • Schools Concerts

Ticket prices

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"If you don't eat goose on St Martin's Day, you'll go hungry all year long." Advice you should follow if you believe in the truth of Hungarian folk wisdom! On 11 November, in addition to a range of spectacular displays, across Europe children and adults alike also celebrate with a hearty meal. Our own programme comes complete with dance, music, singing and storytelling, not to mention some mouthwatering commentary from our expert in the matter, Zoltán "Batyu" Farkas. Together with his special guests, he will tell us about the history of Saint Martin of Tours, the most famous resident from the Hungarian city of Szombathely.

The story begins in Roman times, when the future Roman soldier and Catholic saint Martin (or Márton, in Hungarian) was born in the town of Savaria (now Szombathely) at the start of the 4th century AD. After serving the Roman emperor for many years, Jesus Christ appeared to him in a dream. Martin would later famously offered half his cloak to a shivering beggar. Though much has been said about the good deeds of St Martin's life, he himself was so modest that when his bishop wanted to make him a saint, it is said he hid away in the goose shed before the animals revealed his presence through their gagging. St Martin's Day traditionally saw a celebration of agricultural work. The date also marked the last day before Lent, and a 'bishop's bite' was sent to the churchman from the abundant goose feast. Prophecies were made using the breastbone of the roasted goose, while shepherds walked from house to house to greet people with Martin's cane, made from birch branches. It was customary to make a toast with a new wine after the hearty goose dinner, and in many towns street parties and a lantern parade brought the auspicious day to a close. In a show reviving the folk customs of St Martin's Day and hosted by Zoltán "Batyu" Farkas, you can meet the singer-storyteller Krisztina Benedek, the Tarsoly Band and the primary school groups of the Pannon Folk Dance Ensemble from Kistarcsa.

Age: 10-14 year
Presented by: Müpa Budapest
  • Storyteller-singer
    Krisztina Benedek
  • Presenter
    Zoltán "Batyu” Farkas
  • The Kistarcsa Pannonia Dance Ensemble children's groups, Barkóca and Berkenye
  • Tarsoly Band

Parking information

We wish to inform you that in the event that Müpa Budapest's underground garage and outdoor car park are operating at full capacity, it is advisable to plan for increased waiting times when you arrive. In order to avoid this, we recommend that you depart for our events in time, so that you you can find the ideal parking spot quickly and smoothly and arrive for our performance in comfort. The Müpa Budapest underground garage gates will be operated by an automatic number plate recognition system. Parking is free of charge for visitors with tickets to any of our paid performances on that given day. The detailed parking policy of Müpa Budapest is available here.

Safe ticket purchase

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