20 August – The History of St Stephen's Day - God bless Hungary!

As the end of August approaches and families prepare for the start of the new school year, 20 August traditionally marks the last great summer holiday for most Hungarians. Since the fall of communism, this day has become Hungary's most important national public holiday. Throughout history, however, it has carried a variety of different meanings and associations, making it well worth exploring. When and how did St Stephen's Day become Hungary's national holiday?

The Beginnings

The feast days of saints are usually straightforward to identify, as they almost always fall on the date of their death – regarded in Christian tradition as their birth into eternal life. In the case of St Stephen, however, the situation is slightly different, although the date of his death and his feast day are only a few days apart. According to the well-known tradition recorded in the Legend of St Stephen by Bishop Hartvik, the dying king entrusted Hungary to the protection of the Virgin Mary.

Stephen's connection with the Virgin Mary extends beyond this famous episode. Hartvik's account also relates that the king prayed specifically to die on her feast day:

Accordingly, tradition still holds that St Stephen died on 15 August 1038, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (known in Hungary as Nagyboldogasszony).

The Canonisation of St Stephen

An early expression of Stephen's cult was the annual law days held in Székesfehérvár on the anniversary of his death. The defining moment, however, came with his canonisation in 1083. That year, King St Ladislaus I deliberately promoted the development of Hungary's Christian traditions by securing the canonisation of several Hungarian saints, including St Emeric (Imre) and St Gerard (Gellért). Of these, St Stephen would become by far the most revered.

The date still observed today as St Stephen's Day originates from this event. Stephen was formally raised to the altar—the medieval term for canonisation—on 20 August 1083 in the Basilica of the Virgin Mary at Székesfehérvár, a church he himself had founded.

In the years that followed, numerous miraculous healings were reported at Stephen's tomb. It is therefore no surprise that many later Hungarian kings chose to be buried beside him in Székesfehérvár, a testament to the enduring reverence in which the nation's first king was held.

The Holy Right Hand

Another central symbol of the feast since the Middle Ages has been the Holy Right Hand (Szent Jobb), the mummified right hand of King Stephen. During the medieval period, the relic was kept at the monastery near the village of Szentjobb in Bihar County, which became an important destination for pilgrims. In the fifteenth century, the Holy Right Hand was transferred to Székesfehérvár. During the Ottoman occupation, it was taken—by means that remain uncertain—to Ragusa (modern-day Dubrovnik, Croatia), where it remained for centuries.

Even Emperor Leopold I, who after the expulsion of the Ottomans once again dedicated Hungary to the Virgin Mary, following the example of St Stephen, sought to recover the precious relic. Despite prolonged negotiations, it was Empress Maria Theresa who finally succeeded in bringing the Holy Right Hand back to Hungary in 1771.

The Holy Right Hand returned to Buda in July 1771, where it was welcomed with magnificent public celebrations. Maria Theresa also decreed that these festivities should be observed in future years, and for this reason she is widely regarded as the founder of St Stephen's Day as an official public celebration. One of the best-known features of today's celebrations, however—the Procession of the Holy Right Hand (Szent Jobb-körmenet)—did not become a regular part of the festivities until the nineteenth century.

The Cult of the Virgin Mary and St Stephen's Day

Any account of the development of St Stephen's Day would be incomplete without recognising its close historical connection with the cult of the Virgin Mary. According to tradition, King Stephen prayed that he might die on the Feast of the Assumption, and it was he who entrusted Hungary to the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary on his deathbed.

Across medieval Europe, several nations developed the belief that the Virgin Mary acted as the heavenly protector of their people and country. In Hungary, this idea found expression in two closely related but distinct concepts: Patrona Hungariae and Regnum Marianum. The title Patrona Hungariae presents the Virgin Mary as Hungary's principal spiritual patron and protector. By contrast, Regnum Marianum ("The Marian Kingdom") carries a much stronger political meaning. Rooted in the legends surrounding St Stephen, it expressed Hungary's sovereignty and independence in relation to the various political powers of medieval Europe.

From the seventeenth century, during the Counter-Reformation, the concept of Regnum Marianum acquired a renewed religious significance as part of the effort to strengthen Catholicism and reverse the spread of Protestantism. From the late eighteenth century, it also played an important role in fostering Hungarian national identity and in resisting the influence of Enlightenment ideas. During the Horthy era (1920–1944), the concept was further invoked in support of the revisionist ideal of restoring the historic Kingdom of Hungary.

It is therefore clear that, throughout the Middle Ages, the celebration of St Stephen's Day was closely intertwined with devotion to the Virgin Mary. Over the course of the modern era, however, the two traditions gradually diverged, and the feast of St Stephen increasingly evolved into a secular national holiday, emphasising the Hungarian state and its historical continuity rather than its exclusively religious significance.

St Stephen's Day Becomes a National Holiday

A century later, in 1891, 20 August was officially declared a public holiday. Its acceptance, however, was far from universal. Because of its distinctly Catholic origins, the celebration received a less enthusiastic response from Hungary's Protestant denominations.

During the Horthy era (1920–1944), the cult of St Stephen and the significance of his feast day gained renewed momentum. As the idea of the Kingdom of St Stephen became one of the central historical arguments supporting the policy of territorial revision following the Treaty of Trianon, the celebration of 20 August also acquired a strong national and political dimension.

It was during the interwar period that the fireworks display, now one of the most recognisable features of the holiday, became a permanent part of the official celebrations. The cult of St Stephen reached its peak in 1938, the 900th anniversary of the king's death. That year, Hungary held the St Stephen Memorial Year, a nationwide series of commemorative events, and St Stephen's Day was elevated to the status of a national holiday.

Other Folk Traditions Associated with St Stephen's Day

Over the centuries, 20 August—and the weeks surrounding it—became associated with a rich variety of Hungarian folk customs.

One such tradition was the period known as "between the two Ladies", spanning the Feast of the Assumption (15 August) and the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (8 September). According to popular belief, this was a time endowed with special powers. Medicinal herbs were gathered during these weeks, as they were thought to possess greater healing properties, and hens were set to brood in the hope that they would become particularly productive layers.

Traditionally, the harvest was believed to begin on St Peter and St Paul's Day (29 June) and conclude around 15 July, the Feast of the Division of the Apostles. Nevertheless, the harvest festival—celebrating both the completion of the harvest and the baking of the new bread—gradually became associated with 20 August, a development encouraged in part by government support.

From the turn of the twentieth century, the Hungarian state actively promoted this tradition, which gradually spread throughout the country. By the Horthy era, harvest balls and celebrations of the "Festival of Hungarian Bread" had become common across Hungary.

This aspect of the holiday became particularly significant after the Second World War. Since St Stephen's Day carried unmistakable religious associations—and, since the Horthy period, had also acquired revisionist political overtones—the newly established communist regime sought to diminish these elements. Emphasising the harvest and the new bread provided a more secular interpretation of the holiday, one that better suited the ideology of the new state.

20 August Since the Second World War

It is well known that from 1949 onwards, the holiday was given an entirely new meaning. The communist government deliberately brought into force the new Constitution of the Hungarian People's Republic—a Soviet-style constitution—on 20 August, transforming the day into the "Day of the Constitution."

At the same time, the celebration of St Stephen was largely suppressed. The Procession of the Holy Right Hand was last permitted in 1947, led by Cardinal József Mindszenty, before it was banned under the communist regime.

During the 1950s, even the traditional fireworks display was moved to 4 April, the so-called "Liberation Day", which was officially presented as the most important state holiday in communist Hungary. It was not until the 1960s that fireworks once again became part of the 20 August celebrations.

Over time, the official programme expanded beyond its political significance to include an increasing number of public entertainments, cultural events, and state ceremonies, including the presentation of national honours and awards.

The Order of St Stephen of Hungary

One of the most significant additions to the modern celebration of 20 August has been the presentation of the Order of St Stephen of Hungary, the nation's highest state honour.

The decoration was originally founded by Empress Maria Theresa, but it was abolished in 1946 following the establishment of the republic. It was re-established under Hungary's new Fundamental Law, and since 2013 it has been awarded each year as part of the official St Stephen's Day celebrations.

The St Stephen Award

In 2001, Antal Bihari founded the St Stephen Award Foundation (Szent István-díj Alapítvány) in Esztergom in honour of Hungary's first king.

The St Stephen Award is presented to individuals whose work has made an outstanding contribution to the Hungarian nation as a whole, recognising exceptional achievements in the service of Hungarian communities both within Hungary and abroad.

In addition to presenting the award, the Foundation promotes the development of Hungarian cultural life across the entire Hungarian nation and plays an important role in the preservation and protection of Hungary's cultural heritage.

St Stephen's Day Today

Following the democratic transition of 1989–1990, 20 August regained its original significance as the day commemorating St Stephen and the foundation of the Hungarian state. The Procession of the Holy Right Hand was also revived after decades of prohibition.

During the early years of the new democracy, Parliament engaged in extensive debate over which of Hungary's three principal national commemorations—15 March, 20 August, or 23 October—should be recognised as the country's foremost national holiday. The matter was ultimately settled by Act VIII of 1991, which designated 20 August as Hungary's principal national holiday. This status was later reaffirmed in Hungary's Fundamental Law, promulgated in 2011.

In modern times, the traditions associated with the harvest festival have also become an integral part of the celebration. Each year, Hungary's Bread of the Nation and Cake of the Nation are officially selected, symbolising both the country's agricultural heritage and its rich culinary traditions.

Today, St Stephen's Day brings together Hungary's Christian heritage, its thousand-year-old statehood, and its living national traditions, making it one of the country's most significant and widely celebrated public holidays.

Glory to St Stephen, the founding King of Hungary.

God bless Hungary!