Local services
Today is the 202nd anniversary of the birth of the National Anthem. On the occasion of the Day of Hungarian Culture, wreath-laying ceremonies were held at the relief and statue of Ferenc Kölcsey. Deputy Mayor István Puskás said at the ceremony, “Our national prayer would not sound as we know it today if Kölcsey had not acquired the education he expresses in this poem in Debrecen.”
The lines of our national prayer resound on every holiday and special occasion. Hungarians know the first verse of the National Anthem by heart even as schoolchildren. 202 years ago, Ferenc Kölcsey clarified and dated the manuscript of the National Anthem in Szatmárcseke.
“Kölcsey is the wandering singer in the present and afterlife, so the hymn’s request for divine help is still valid today, and thus any line or any image can always provide a new grasp of meaning and emotion,” Vice-Rector for Education at the Reformed Theological University of DebrecenFerenc Vitéz said.
On the day the Anthem was born, we celebrate the Day of Hungarian Culture. To mark the anniversary, a wreath was first laid at Kölcsey’s relief at the Reformed College of Debrecen, after which the commemoration continued at the statue on Péterfia Street.
“On this day, we can experience the role and place of Debrecen in the centuries-old history of Hungarian culture, as in every line of the Anthem, Kölcsey’s Reformed education, which he acquired during his studies at the Debrecen Reformed College,” Deputy Mayor István Puskás explained at the ceremony. “We can say that our national prayer would not sound the way we know it today if Kölcsey had not acquired the education in Debrecen he expresses in this poem, so through the lines of the Anthem, through Kölcsey’s words, Debrecen lives there in our national prayer,” he emphasised.
True to tradition, Margitta, Berettyóújfalu, Nagyvárad and Debrecen will celebrate the Day of Hungarian Culture together this year as well. The week-long series of events includes almost 200 programmes.
Upcoming programs for the Hungarian Culture Day in Debrecen:
22 January (Wednesday)
Zoo Debrecen (Debrecen, 1 Ady E. Street)
10.00 – 6.00 p.m. (January 22-26.)
Presentation of the Nautilus Cup (Szomolányi Collection)
Déri Museum (Debrecen, 1 Déri Square)
1.00 p.m.
Hungarian Culture Day Language Quiz
DEMKI Homokkerti Community House (Debrecen, 78 Szabó Kálmán Street)
2.00 p.m., 4.00 p.m.
Hungarian Inventors – Educational Presentation
Agora Scientific Experience Center (Debrecen, 1 Egyetem Square, entrance
from Móricz Zs. Road)
2.00 p.m.
“Affect, create, grow.” Conference on Hungarian talent
Méliusz Central Library 2nd floor cloister (Debrecen, 19 Bem Square)
2.00 p.m., 4.00 p.m., 6.00 p.m.
Debrecen 175 Drama Competition – Reading theater of award-winning entries
Csokonai Forum/Simor Ottó Orfeum (Debrecen, 30 Csapó Street)
3.00 p.m.
Conversation about Géza Gárdonyi with his great-grandson, Péter Keller and literary historian István Cs. Varga
Déri Museum (Debrecen, 1 Déri Square)
4.00 p.m. – 6.00 p.m.
Hungarian folk motif creative corner for children
Méliusz Central Library Children’s Department (Debrecen, 19 Bem Sqaure)
4.30p.m. – 5.30 p.m.
Hungarian Culture Quiz-Family Challenge Contest.
Méliusz Central Library (Debrecen, 19 Bem Square)
4.30 p.m.
A unique walk through the Old Town Hall, led by Deputy Mayor István Puskás
(Debrecen, 20 Piac Street)
5.00 p.m.
Curatorial tour by Gábor Krisztián Török at the exhibition Learning from Nature? Botany
MODEM (Debrecen, 1-3 Hunyadi Street)
5.30 p.m.
Wreath-laying ceremony of the statue of Ferenc Kölcsey at the
Kölcsey Center with the participation of Kölcsey Ferenc Reformed Elementary School Children’s Choir
Kölcsey Center (Debrecen, 1-3 Hunyadi Street)
6.00 p.m.
Award ceremony of the Debrecen Culture Foundation
Old Town Hall, Simonffy Hall (Debrecen, 20 Piac Street)
6.00 p.m.
“Briefly about compulsory readings?” – Informal discussion about compulsory readings with Ágnes Szabados, Csilla Papp and Gergely Máté Kiss
Kölcsey Center, Kölcsey Café (Debrecen, 1-3 Hunyadi Street)
6.30 p.m.
“God, bless the Hungarians” – An unusual church visit led by Mayor László Papp on the Day of Hungarian Culture.
Debrecen Reformed Church
6.30 p.m.
Screening of the film “I Accidentally Wrote a Book” and audience meeting with director Nóra Lakos and actress Réka Tenki
Apolló Cinema (Debrecen, 1 Miklós Street)
8.00 p.m.
Awards ceremony for the 175th Drama Competition in Debrecen
Celebratory performance of the Debrecen Folk Ensemble’s Tales of Our Masters.
Csokonai Theatre (Debrecen, 10 Kossuth Street)
January 23rd (Thursday)
4.00 p.m.
Centuries of a Tannery. Organiser: DEMKI.
Derecske Municipal Cultural Center and Library Móré Mihály Gallery (Derecske, 107 Köztársaság Road)
6.00 p.m.
The Face of Debrecen – Screening and discussion of the upcoming volume “In the footsteps of the civic houses and inhabitants of Debrecen II.” with the authors
Moderator: Lajos Lakner
Déri Museum (Debrecen, 1 Déri Square)
January 24th (Friday)
4.00 p.m.
“My soul, my feelings have been inherited” – Musical and poetic program with the participation of the artists of the Csokonai National Theatre
DEMKI Homokkerti Community House (Debrecen, 68 Szabó Kálmán Street)
8.00 p.m.
Club acoustics – Acoustic music evening
DEMKI Youth House (Debrecen, 21 Simonffy Street)
January 25th (Saturday)
1.00 p.m. – 6.00 p.m.
Carnival of Crafts
DEMKI Tannery Creative House (Debrecen, 6 Nagy-Gál
István Street)
1.00 p.m.
Talents – Nádudvar Folk Crafts Exhibition of former students of the Vocational High School.
Greetings by Réka Benő-Nagy, Director of the Nádudvar People’s Handicraft Vocational High School.
DEMKI Tannery Creative House (Debrecen, 6 Nagy-Gál
István Street)
Source and photo credit:debrecen.hu
