(21 Apr 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hollókő, Hungary – 21 April 2025
1. Wide of women singing while walking in their traditional dresses
2. Wide of local men catching a woman
3. Wide of a man with a bucket of water
4. Wide of water poured onto a woman
5. Wide of men filing up their buckets
6. Close of men sharing water
7. Various of men holding a local woman while water poured onto her
8. SOUNDBITE (Hungarian) Zsófia Kelemen, resident of Hollókő:
"In fact, we were born into this, so for us it is not just a tradition, but our life itself. And this rite is a very important part of it, which helps to preserve our way of life.”
9. Wide of women singing
10. Wide of women screaming
11. Wide of a man with a bucket of water
12. Wide of water poured onto a woman
13. SOUNDBITE (Hungarian) Zsófia Kelemen, resident of Hollókő:
"According to the old tradition, that girl was actually the best in the village who got the most water poured onto her.”
14. Wide men holding a woman while water is poured onto her
15. SOUNDBITE (Hungarian) János Szabó, local resident:
"I think it’s a great tradition. I tell you honestly, this is a rite which dates back to ancient times, from which we can root ourselves, our national identity, and our village identity.”
16. Wide of men pouring buckets of water onto a woman
17. Various of local women twist out their wet dresses
18. Wide of men walking away with buckets
STORYLINE:
Tourists crowded Hollókő in northeastern Hungary on Monday to watch men pour water on women as part of an Easter tradition.
The sprinkling of young women, or sometimes drenching, is a rite that goes back centuries.
In the past, it was customary to only douse women who were deemed suitable for marriage.
She that got soaked the most "was actually the best in the village", according to resident Zsófia Kelemen.
"We were born into this, so for us it is not just a tradition, but our life itself,” she adds.
Some legends suggest the purifying effect of water is related to baptism, which people used to hold in the spring centuries ago.
Christianity is practiced all across the world, but the rite of Easter watering is primarily limited to central Europe.
János Szabó, another Hollókő resident, is proud of the tradition "from which we can root ourselves, our national identity, and our village identity”.
Hollókő has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
Originally built in the 17th and 18th centuries, it earned its distinction thanks to its well-preserved traditional layout, architecture, and way of life.
AP video by Bela Szandelszky
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