Ballagás

The Ballagás is a Hungarian ceremony that takes place when students complete their final year of secondary school, (gymnasium) for students who are about to have matura exam (érettségi), held to say goodbye to their school years.

Ballagás in the Szent Margit High School, Budapest

Those leaving kindergarten or primary school usually have a smaller ballagás celebration. The event shouldn't be confused with homecomings, which are called találkozó or osztálytalálkozó bál in Hungary.

Historically

In Hungary, the custom started in Selmecbánya in the 1870s, when the students of the local forestry and mining academy sang a song beginning with Ballag már a vén diák... as their farewell to school, hence the name ballagás (but the holiday itself and the customs associated with it developed later). The customs were deeply influenced by the world of Hungarian folk tales. It associates leaving school with the image of wandering that is common in folk tales. This tradition soon spread to the whole country, in the 20th century. Since the 1920s, the Hungarian folk song Elmegyek, Elmegyek and Gaudeamus igitur has also been sung at the ceremony, and the students of the final year started giving serenades to their teachers on the night before graduation (this is still done today).

Before the university traditions, the folk festival known as Legényavató ("Stag inauguration") was a symbol of coming of age in Hungarian culture. The tradition still exists but is less common today.

Traditions

The ballagás is widely practiced in Hungary, within the Hungarian diaspora, and the large Hungarian communities in the surrounding countries. It is usually held in late May or early June, often during Matura Week. A day before Ballagás, the smaller students prepare the classrooms for the festivity the next day. They make paper decorations and cutouts, write greetings on the boards and decorate the stairs and walls with colorful flowers to say goodbye to their fellow students and to celebrate change.

The lilac branches are stuck on boards, windows, stair handrails.

One of the main symbols of the event is the lilac. Kids usually decorate the entire interior of the school with these flowers, which are often brought in by the wheelbarrow. It symbolically guides students through life. Since the decoration is "live", it should be removed after a few days.

1 Hungarian forint. The lucky forint is said to bring prosperity to the students.

On the day of the Ballagás, the students wearing uniforms march through the school corridors and classrooms (sometimes nearby streets), following the flag bearer. A special satchel (ballagó tarisznya) is hanged on their shoulders (metaphorically identifying the student with a wanderer), in which hamuban sült pogácsa, salt, soil, a lucky forint (or szerencse forint), and a photo of the institution are placed, (and sometimes a flask of water or wine) usually by younger students. The ballagó tarisznya and the pogácsa are symbols of wandering, the soil from the school ground symbolizes home and the patch of salt will "make life worth living". Parents and relatives greet their graduating child or family member with balloons, bouquets or other gifts, with which the students march on. During the school ceremony, some members of the class recall the memorable moments of the past years, and the teachers give them advice in life.

They follow each other in columns, with one hand holding the bouquets and érettségi balloons given to them and with the other clinging to the shoulder of the person in front of them. At the head of each column is the class teacher. The classes together used to carry the Ballagóláda, a chest where students put there memorabilia from their school years. Now new songs have become popular like Húsz év Múlva (20 years from now), but the old ones are also commonly sang like the folk song Elindultam szép hazámból.

A modern tradition is to release the helium balloons together at the end of the event, symbolizing the liberty of adult life and letting go of childhood. There are regional traditions as well, for example since 1922 in the Evangelical Lyceum of Sopron, students go on a hike in the forest in their suits to drink spring water.

The tanárbúcsúztató ("Teachers' farewell") is usually held on this day, when students give a speech and present gifts to their teachers at a banquet, to express their gratitude and admiration for them. After the event, the parents often organize a family gathering, which is usually a celebratory lunch or dinner.

The Ballagás itself also has a symbolic meaning: the graduates say goodbye not only to their school but also to their lives so far, as it can be seen as the end of an era, after which a new life awaits them. Ballagás also symbolizes the end of childhood and the beginning of adulthood, so is important in the lives of children (in the brief period referred to as ballagó) and parents alike.

Szalagavató and Bolondballagás

High Schoolers dancing in on their Szallagavató wearing ball gawn.

A green ribbon, which is placed on the dress of each student.

There are other traditions connected to maturity, such as the Szalagavató or Szalagtűző which is winter a student's ball, where seniors (végzős) dance as a class in formal attire. Students often give a flower to parents. The class usually prepares almost a year practicing. A choreographer is usually hired for the dance. Classic dances include the waltz and the palotás. The name means "ribbon inauguration". During the ceremony, a green ribbon (although schools nowadays allow other colors as well) is hung on the chest or shoulders of each student. The green ribbon has the start and end dates of their high school years written on them and is a symbol of adulthood. After the Szallagavató there is usually an after-party.

While the ballagás traditions are exclusive to Hungary the Szalagavató spread throughout the Kingdom of Hungary, so it is not only practiced by the Hungarian communities, but by the Slovaks of Felvidék (translated as: stužková slávnosť).

The tradition traces back its origins to the Hungarian school traditions of Selmec. Originally it was called valétálás, term coming from the Latin word valentas (farewell). Today valétálás describes the special graduation ceremony, practiced by Hungarian universities.

After receiving their green velvet bows from their mentors (traditionally called godparents or keresztszülők in Hungarian), they then went out to the town gate, led by the oldest student, who carried a bunch of oak leaves on a stick, while the others had an oak leaf pinned to their hats. The younger students accompanied them, carrying torches, and as they arrived at the city limits and kicked the graduates' buttocks to show that they had no business being in there any more. Afterwards the students went back to dance and had a night of fun.

Days before the Ballagás, a Bolond Ballagás is also commonly held. It is a parody of the ceremony that awaits them, where the seniors would go around the school the same way, but in funny, thematic costumes. They would also decorate their own classroom this day.

See also

• Ballagás film by Tamás Almási
• Prom
• Education in Hungary
• Gaudeamus igitur
• School traditions of Selmec
• Stužková slávnosť the Slovak name of the Szalagavató
• Public Holidays in Hungary
• Matura