CULTURE
The ancient Magyars had a
rich folk culture, which incorporated Eastern themes into its
folktales, art, and music. Following the Hungarian conversion
to Christianity in the 10th century, pagan and Eastern cultural
elements were replaced by Western cultural and social patterns,
and Latin became the official and literary language. During the
15th century Italian artists and scholars introduced the humanistic
Renaissance into Hungarian culture. In the 16th century Hungarian
replaced Latin. In the 18th and 19th centuries Hungary absorbed
the Age of Enlightenment and Western European liberalism. The
early 20th century saw the rise of the “West” school
of Hungarian intellectuals, who favored the integration of Hungarian
cultural elements with modern Western culture. After World War
II (1939-1945) the Communist regime made efforts to pattern Hungarian
culture after that of the USSR.
The cultural milieu of Hungary
is a result of the diverse mix of genuine Hungarian peasant culture
and the cosmopolitan culture of an influential German and Jewish
urban population. Both the coffeehouse (as meeting place for intellectuals)
and Gypsy music also have had an impact. Cultural life traditionally
has been highly political since national culture became the sine
qua non of belated nation building from the early 19th century.
Theatre, opera, and literature in particular played crucial roles
in developing national consciousness. Poets and writers, especially
in crisis situations, became national heroes and prophets. Governments
also attempted to influence cultural life through subsidy and
regulation. During the state socialist era culture was strictly
controlled; party interference was influenced by ideological principles,
and mass culture was promoted.
Hungary's most traditional
cultural element is its cuisine. Hungarian food is very rich,
and red meat is frequently used as an ingredient. Goulash (gulyás),
bean soup with smoked meat, and beef stew are national dishes.
The most distinctive element of Hungarian cuisine is paprika,
a spice made from the pods of chili peppers (Capsicum annuum).
Paprika is not native to Hungary—having been imported either
from Spain, India by way of the Turks, or the Americas—but
it is a fixture on most dining tables in Hungary and an important
export. Among Hungary's spicy dishes are halászle, a fish
soup, and lecsó, made with hot paprika, tomato, and sausage.
Homemade spirits, including various fruit brandies (pálinka),
are popular. Before World War II, Hungary was a wine-drinking
country, but beer has become increasingly prevalent. Although
Hungarians were not quick to accept them, foreign cuisines appeared
in Budapest from the 1990s, a sign of the growing influence of
the outside world.
