Nemzeti ünnep
We’re interrupting this program to bring some multicultural tolerance for our wonderful neighbors who live across an imaginary line. They’ll be out late tonight celebrating their 1848 contribution to the waves of nationalistic revolutions spanning across Europe, when Lajos Kossuth stood up to look the Austrian Habsburgs square in the monocle and said, “Nein!”
Boy, were the Österreicher’s ever pissed off.
You see, if I got my history correct, the Magyars settled into the Pannonia plains somewhere around 900. They kicked butt for a while, subjugating the barbians and restoring peace to the galaxy (alright, so they were brutally merciless just like everyone else was back then).
At some point around 15xx, the Habsburgs - not satisifed with being Roman Emperors, Kings of Germany, Rulers of the Netherlands, Owners of Spain, Masters of Bohemia and so on - were extending their erstwhile successful massive world domination plans (yes, the anachronistic equivalent of Bilderbergers and the Brain) by rolling out some troops to the east where Hungary and Transylvania were as a sort of Austriae est imperare orbi universo type thing.
Right, so, they proceed to put the kaibosh on any kind of independent thinking or self-pride. You were merely a vassal of Habsburg will, afterall. The normal order of the day back then was to oppress the masses, particularly if they belonged to some category of people whom you felt were different from yourself. “You keep what you kill” and all that.
Now, there was a lot of shuffling going on across the world and the Habsburgs were in a fierce boxing match with the Ottomans over control of much of Europe (particularly Transylvania and Hungary, in this case) and the Magyar colony wasn’t exactly on the priority list for deserving a fancy seat at the table of splendor. Anyone who studies the art of power understands that money typically flows to he who suppresses others the most, like stepping on people’s faces in your rush to the bottom.
Understandably, the Magyars weren’t particularly happy about this situation where the people were looked down upon and their language and culture was becoming a bit Saxonated. So, after a few hundred years, the Hungarians came before the Habsburg court with their hat in hand, nice as you please, asking for a little bit autonomy so the people could have free expression and not be complete serfs.
When the Habsburgs laughed mockingly, someone found the gall to do something during a window of opportunity. When the Habbys’ leader kicked the bucket and a new, young prince was suddenly thrust into power, a few Magyars decided to brandish torches and pikes so they could declare a state of independence in Hungary. The newly liberated masses put Ol’ Kossuth up on the stand as Regent of Hungary.
Huzzah! Freedom from oppression! Self-governance! Szabadság!
And that’s what they’re celebrating, folks. The throwing off the yoke placed on them by the House of Habsburg generations earlier. It makes me proud just thinking about it.
So, make yourself a little gulyás leves (kösönöm szépen egy Brassói család tagjai for the amazingly delicious recipe and the paprika machinata) and, of course, be certain to drink dangerous amounts of megy palinka. Egeszegedre!
Where I come from, we tend to adopt neighboring holidays. Cinco De Mayo is a particularly good example of a Mexican holiday that is hugely popular throughout America. Instead of hating the people next to us, we try to appreciate key parts of their culture (even if only in a cursory way) by chowing down on some burritos and getting sick on tequila.
Here in Transylvania, we’ve got a fair number of ethnic Hungarians still adding value to the cultural mashup. Today’s the day: walk right up to one and hug ‘em. You’ll find out their just as nice as anyone else, if you didn’t already know that.
As for me, I count myself very lucky to have about 40-50% of my Romanian friends who are ethnic Hungarians. I love it! They’re just as proud as anyone of Transylvania’s natural beauty and they’re happy to be integrated into the Romanian life (even if the respect isn’t always reciprocated by a handful of idiots). Racism is merely a remnant of the old generation who is dying out. There’s not much time for that hooey, what with all this cyberculture, video games, and economic opportunity.
Ain’t it grand? Igen!
Oh, say, I almost forgot the post-1848 bit. It was awful. Franz Josef, the teenie bopper king of Austria, completely wet himself at the news of Hungary’s independence. He had no where else to turn but the vicious Tsars of Russia.
And wouldn’t you know, those pesky Ruskies came riding in a-whompin’ an’ a-whoopin’ with full intent to collect a few pieces of silver by putting the Magyars back into the cage. Outmatched and outgunned, the Hungarians were decimated and defeated.
Kossuth had to hide in Turkey for a while as a guest of Austria and Russia’s archrival, the Ottomans. His children were put in a Bratislava prison for a spell before ultimately reuniting. Later, he made it to France where the people cheered in celebration of Kossuth’s honor and valor in trying to free the Hungarian people from Österreich oppression and serving as an example for the independence of all men. He was also celebrated en masse when he toured cities of England. Later, he was honored in America as a hero during his visits.
Fun fact: Lajos Kossuth is the earliest born person in the world who has his voice preserved in a recording (on Edison’s wax phonograph, no less).
He never was able to free Hungary, ultimately. Nope. Instead, a rival named Ferenc Deák negotiated a peace compromise to create the AustroHungarian empire spanning over Austria, Bohemia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bukovina, Carinthia, Carniola, Croatia, Dalmatia, Galicia, Hungary, Lodomeria, Moravia, Salzburg, Silesia, Slavonia, Styria, Transylvania, Tyrol, and Vojvodina.
Not too shabby of a collection! Of course, that too fell apart as the wars for power raged on.
Mmmph. About that palinca…
Now back to our regularly scheduled show.
[Edit: Kérem szépen, Orbán Endre.]
March 23rd, 2006 at 1:34 am
An unbelivably one-sided view of events. Maybe you should study some Romanian history too before writing something about these things. If you do that, you will learn about the Romanian involvment in the 1948 revolution and the way Hungarians opressed for centuries the Romanians living in Transilvania.
As for the “handful of idiots” that don’t respect the other side, most of these idiots are Hungarians, not Romanians.
That being said, most Hungarians in Transilvania are nice folks and i wish them all the best.
March 23rd, 2006 at 9:36 am
Keep your britches on. There’s nothing one-sided about it, bubba.
At least, not in the sense that there are any *more* sides to be had… it’s pretty simple to say that a Hungarian National Day is only going to have one side to it.
And let’s be honest here, if there WAS going to be another side, it would be the Austrian perspective, since they were the masters of the day and they had to put up with the revolt and all. What a bother that must have been for his royal teenageness, the boy king.
Nope, sorry, but the notion that Romanian suffering under the yoke of oppression has no role to play in the National Day. Tough times? You bet. Directly related? Not at all.
I can see your general dislike for Hungarians pretty clearly (or, would it be more fair to say Hungarian history?) and yet it would be like saying “Those Germans are animals” in a discussion of their national holiday or “Those Russians are insane” on theirs… et cetera.
It’s a prideful day. Let ‘em have it. I wanted to share the information because I think not enough people bother to know much about their neighbors. They cling to old news about generations ago and mentally punish the living for what happened a long time ago. Remembering is good. Understanding is better.
Ignorant stereotypes that lead to alienation and racial hatred are, well, a stupid burden to carry.
But I am probably reading too much into your words. So pardon me.
Bottomline: it’s a great day for them that they feel proud to celebrate a hero who stood up to their oppressors… and that, in principle, is something all of us should be able to recognize.
Thanks for your thoughts. Palinka?
Egeszegedre!
March 23rd, 2006 at 1:04 pm
I have nothing against Hungarians. I work with Hungarians and i have Hungarian friends.
But i have something people who fake history. The Transilvanian Romanians also revolted in 1848, under the leadership of Avram Iancu. After fights with the Hungarian army, Iancu wanted to ally with them against the common enemy, the Imperial armies. Kossuth refused, because he didn’t want to grant any rights for the Romanians.
A Hungarian-Romanian alliance would have had a much better chance to defeat the Austrians, and bring freedom for both nations. Too bad Kossuth only wanted freedom for themselves, while they would continue to opress the other nations.
Otherwise, they have all the right to celebrate their hero and to be proud of their celebration.
I will have some palinca for that but try to read more before you write about history next time.
March 23rd, 2006 at 3:06 pm
I’ll say it again. Oppression of Romanians has nothing to do with the Hungarian National Day.
And I also dislike those who engage in revisionist history. Let’s see where we disagree.
1848 Transylvania was NOT a fight between Hungary and Romania.
It was, on the other hand, a fight between Austria, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Russia, Szekely, Saxons, and just about anyone else within a stone’s throw distance.
Kossuth’s objective was to abolish serfdom for everyone, period. If I understand what you say, you believe Kossuth wanted Romanians to remain serfs of Hungary. That is not true.
What is true is that while serfdom was abolished, Kossuth wanted Transylvania to be united with Hungary. Austria definitely did not want this and so they proposed a package of political benefits to the Romanians.
Ethnic Romanians and ethnic Hungarians were split on allegiances. It was not black and white, although the majority of each generally stuck with “their” (perceived) side.
Essentially, the Transylvania Romanians tended to side with the former overlords from Austria. Wallachia and Oltenia Romanians tended to side with their Russian masters. And, so, it was time to defeat those pesky Hungarians.
Nevermind that Kossuth was trying to abolish serfdom in all Hungarian-controlled territories.
Anyway, it was all a big mashup of playing off nationalistic feelings against one another so that Austria and Russia could control the game.
Meanwhile, it is my understanding that Iancu wanted to see an independent Transylvania (not necessarily a pan-Romana state).
Interestingly, everyone feared the possibility of Russian-Romanian unity or a pan-slavic movement.
Different generals from different countries fought back and forth.
At one point, Kossuth sought to united with Iancu, in order to take advantage of what would seem like a common goal: explusion of Austrian and Russian rule and influence.
But Hatvany decided to go around attacking Iancu. And that was the end of that potential alliance. (Incidentally, Iancu kicked Hatvany’s butt in the end.)
Iancu started having talks with the folks from Wallachia. And so did Kossuth. Everyone was talking about alliances. Everyone sought temporary gain for their own benefit.
Iancu believed that having Austrians return to rule Romania would be the best idea. Not Hungarians. And not Romanians themselves. So, he continued to fight for the “independence” (so to speak”) of Transylvania from both Hungarian and Romanian control. When the Austrians finally got the upperhand in Hungary, Iancu handed it over to them.
Sadly, Austria treated brave Iancu like trash. For all his trouble, they were deeply afraid of his popularity and his skill in battle. Twice they arrested him. They ignored his calls for greater political freedom and effectively swept him aside, for fear of him gaining power.
Poor Iancu possibly could have liberated Transylvania from the Austrians, but apparently had some sort of nervous breakdown while being kicked like a dog in Wien… and he returned home as a wandering alcoholic.
Okay, so that’s the sad tale of 1848 Transylvania. More or less. And I’m open to any factual corrections you have for me.
But what happened in Transylvania has nothing to do with the celebration of Kossuth’s revolt against the Austrians. No one asks Romanians to celebrate a day which is not theirs. I didn’t.
But I did try to spread a little understanding. And I do believe it is incredibly naive to hold anti-Hungarian feelings during their national day. It’s not 1848. There is no Austrian Empire. Nor a Hungarian Empire. There is, happily, a united Romania.
It’s my opinion that modern Romanians should not feel racism towards Hungarians. Instead, they should feel very confident because they are firmly in control of their own territory and should have little need to feel paranoid.
You can point out how difficult it has been to get to this juncture and I’ll definitely respect it. Romanians have had a very long, hard, and brutal history of oppression. But let us remember the past and learn from it, not relive it.
By the way, did you notice the palinca bottle featured in my post was Iancu? =P
December 18th, 2006 at 2:52 am
[…] Back when the Hungarians freed themselves from Austrian rule, Avram was hopeful the new Hungarian leaders would extend freedom to the Romanian serfs. When they refused, he became disenchanted with the revolution. He realized the Romanians were going to have to agitate for their own liberation. […]