Ballagás

In Hungary, the custom of Ballagás began in Selmecbánya in the 1870s, when students of the local forestry and mining academy sang a song starting with Ballag már a vén diák... as a farewell to their school. This gave the tradition its name, Ballagás. However, the holiday itself and its associated customs developed later.

The customs were heavily influenced by the world of Hungarian folk tales, associating leaving school with the image of wandering, a common theme in such stories. This tradition soon spread across the country, gaining popularity throughout the 20th century.

Since the 1920s, the Hungarian folk song Elmegyek, Elmegyek and Gaudeamus igitur have been sung during the ceremony. Additionally, final-year students began the tradition of serenading their teachers on the night before graduation, a practice that continues to this day.^[1][2]

Before the university traditions, the folk festival known as Legényavató ("legény Inauguration") symbolized coming of age in Hungarian culture. While the tradition still exists, it is less common today.

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

The Ballagás ceremony is widely practiced in Hungary, within the Hungarian diaspora, and among large Hungarian communities in neighboring countries. It typically takes place in late May or early June, often during Matura Week.

The day before Ballagás, younger students prepare the classrooms for the celebration. They create paper decorations and cutouts, write farewell messages on the boards, and adorn the stairs and walls with colorful flowers to bid farewell to their graduating peers and celebrate this milestone of change. They also help with the farewell speeches (or ballagási búcsú), where they often quote poems about change infront of the school and say goodbye.

They take their last homeroom class (or osztályfőnöki) with their class-masters, where students are given advice about their future, and can thank their class-masters for the help they gave them.

One of the main symbols of Ballagás is the lilac. Students typically decorate the entire interior of the school with these flowers, often brought in by wheelbarrow. The lilac symbolically represents guidance through life.^[3] Since the decorations use fresh flowers, they must be removed after a few days.

On the day of Ballagás, students dressed in uniforms march through the school corridors and classrooms, and sometimes nearby streets, following the flag bearer. A special satchel called the ballagó tarisznya is hung on their shoulders, symbolically identifying the student as a wanderer.

The satchel is filled with items such as hamuban sült pogácsa (ashes-baked scones), salt, soil, a lucky forint (szerencse forint), and a photo of the institution, sometimes along with a flask of water or wine. These items are usually prepared by younger students.^[4] The ballagó tarisznya and the pogácsa represent the journey of wandering, the soil from the school grounds symbolizes home, and the pinch of salt signifies the flavor and challenges that make life meaningful.^[5]

Parents and relatives greet the graduating students with balloons, bouquets, and other gifts, which the students carry as they march. During the school ceremony, some members of the class reminisce about memorable moments from the past years, and teachers offer advice for life ahead.

The students march in columns, holding bouquets and érettségi balloons in one hand while placing the other hand on the shoulder of the person in front of them. At the head of each column is the class teacher.

In the past, the classes would collectively carry the Ballagóláda, a chest where students stored memorabilia from their school years.^[6]

While new songs, such as Húsz év múlva ("20 Years From Now"), have become popular, traditional songs like the folk tune Elindultam szép hazámból are still commonly sung.

A modern tradition involves releasing helium balloons together at the end of the event, symbolizing the freedom of adult life and letting go of childhood, and making time capsules. ^[7][8]

There are also regional traditions. For example, since 1922, students at the Evangelical Lyceum of Sopron have gone on a hike in the forest wearing their suits, where they drink spring water as part of the celebration.^[9]

The tanárbúcsúztató ("Teachers' Farewell") is typically held on the same day. During this event, students deliver speeches and present gifts to their teachers at a banquet to express their gratitude and admiration. Following the ceremony, parents often organize a family gathering, which usually takes the form of a celebratory lunch or dinner.^[10]

The Ballagás itself holds symbolic meaning: the graduates bid farewell not only to their school but also to their past lives, marking the end of an era and the beginning of a new chapter. Ballagás symbolizes the end of childhood and the transition to adulthood, making it a significant event for both the graduates (during the brief period known as ballagó) and their parents.