In English:
Different yet similar
Some random similarities between Hungary and Estonia
Do you know anything about Hungary? If your answer is ’maybe’ or ’no’ I’ll show you some random facts which are almost the same between Estonia and Hungary. Then this country may not even be that unknown for you. If your answer is ’yes’ perhaps I can show you some novelty after all. Let’s have a look!
- "I speak Hungarian. What is your superpower?" – I found this funny quote on a website a couple of years ago.
According to a survey made by the Foreign Service Institute, a native English person has to learn Hungarian for at least for one year to acquire it. Or let’s say to speak and understand it at a basic – or if they are really dedicated, at a higher – level. Perhaps it is no suprise if I say that the Hungarian language is the fourth most difficult of all. It’s „language realative”, Estonian is also not far behind it which is not a suprise as both are members of the Finno-Ugric language family. And as I noticed during my time in Estonia this language is really complicated even for my „Hungarian-minded brain” and that is a big word. 😀 These upscale places were not earned by chance, the complex grammar makes even native speakers sweat.
- Besides the linguistic relationship we can find similarities in the history as well. After the second world war Hungary was part of the Soviet zone as an independent state. Thereby the country was forced into a political-
economic system which was determined by the dictatorical principle of the state organization of the Soviet Union. The scope of the political activity was determined in Moscow. The remission started at the beginning of the ’80’s and the last Soviet soldier left Hungary on the19th of June in 1991. In contrast the Red Army occupied Estonia on the 21st of July in 1940 and created a satellite state which became a member state of the Soviet Union a couple of months later. The parliament of Tallinn declared the independence of the state on the 20th of August in 1991. and the last Soviet army left the country in 1994.
- If you asked anyone in Hungary which is the „biggest” national holiday is, most of them would say – in addition to the 15th of March – the 20th of August. This is the feast day of our founding of the State and our first monarch, Stephen I. (Saint Stephen) because he was consecrated on the 20th of August in 1083. Thanks to him the Christianity spread and the Hungarian Kingdom became a strong and powerful authority in the middle of Europe. This day is also important for Estonians as in 1991 the independence of the Republic of Estonia was proclaimed again on this day – as I’ve already mentioned it above.
- In Hungary you can buy in every shops the original and inimitable Túrórudi, the sweet cottage cheese miracle covered by chocolate, in all grocery stores. It is impossible to resist it,
I don’t even understand how someone can’t like it. The Estonians have their own version of it which seems to me as a sweet cream cheese dipped in chocolate. The caramel coated one is my favourite of all however I am really sorry but for me the „Pöttyös az igazi!“ – „The spotted one is the real!“*
* The brand’s name is „Pöttyös“ (which means spotted) so they created this slogan as an advertising trick.
- Speaking of sweets I can imagine fewer good things than the almond and the marzipan flavored chocolate. In the early 1930’s a young Hungarian confectioner, Mátyás Szamos learned how to make marzipan figures,
including roses, from a Danish master confectioner. Over the years in addition to various marzipan creations, cakes and candies have been and are being made to this day. In Estonia the first marzipan – which was the coat of arms of Tallinn – was made in the 17th century by a pharmacy. Than the confectioners have been making it from the 18th century. One of them, a Swiss confectioner of the III Gild Lorenz Cavietzel bought a building and opened a café called “Maiasmokk” (Sweet Tooth) where marzipan was made among pastries.
- The pig slauther. I know it may seem brutal and strange however it is an old tradition in Hungary. During this occasion the family members gather to kill and process a pig – and well, talk, eat and drink together. One of the favourite food what they make is the blood sausage. We eat it with pickles at any time of the year – or at least who loves it beacuse it’s a divisive dish. In Estonia it is a Christmas specialty and is made with barley instead of rice and buns and they eat it with cranberry jam. However the taste is just as delicious.
In Estonian:
"Different yet similar"
Some random similarities between Estonia and Hungary
Do you know anything about Hungary? If your answer is 'maybe' or 'no', then in this article I will introduce you to some random facts that are actually quite similar between Estonia and Hungary. In the process, you might discover that this country is not so unknown after all. However, if your answer is 'yes', you can gain new knowledge here. Let's take a closer look!
- "I speak Hungarian. What's your superpower?" - I found this funny quote a couple of years ago on a website. According to the Foreign Service Institute, a native English speaker needs to study Hungarian for at least a year to master it. Or, let's say, at least to speak and understand it at a basic level – or, if someone is truly dedicated, perhaps at a higher level. It's probably not surprising when I say that Hungarian is the fourth most difficult language in the world. It is a 'language relative,' and Estonian is not far from that position at all, which is also not surprising, considering that both are Finno-Ugric languages. Living in Estonia, I must admit that this language is very complicated even for my 'Hungarian brain,' and that says a lot already :D The high rankings on the list are well-deserved, and the complex grammar of these languages makes even native speakers sweat.
- In addition to linguistic similarities, we can also find commonalities in history. After the Second World War, Hungary, as an independent state, belonged to the Soviet zone. Thus, the country was forced into a political-economic system dictated by the Soviet Union's authoritarian state order. The scope of political activity was determined in Moscow. The remission began in the early 80s, and the last Soviet soldier left Hungary on June 19, 1991. In contrast, on July 21, 1940, the Red Army occupied Estonia and created a satellite state, which later became a member state of the European Union. The parliament in Tallinn declared the country's independence on August 20, 1991, and the last Soviet army left the country in 1994.
- If you were to ask someone in Hungary what their biggest national holiday is, most would say it is – in addition to March 15th – August 20th. This is the holiday of our country's founding and of our first monarch, Stephen I (Saint Stephen), because he was canonized on August 20th, 1083. Thanks to him, Christianity spread, and the Kingdom of Hungary became a strong and powerful authority in the heart of Europe. This day is also important for Estonians because, as I mentioned earlier, the independence of the Republic of Estonia was re-declared on the same day in 1991.
- In all Hungarian stores, you can buy the original and inimitable Túrórudi, a chocolate-covered sweet cottage cheese marvel. It's impossible to resist. I don't understand how anyone could not like it. Estonians have their own version, "kohuke," which to me is like sweet cream cheese dipped in chocolate. Of all the kohukes, my favorite is the caramel-covered version, but unfortunately, I have to admit that for me, "Pöttyös az igazi!" – "The spotted one is still the real deal!"
* The brand name is "Pöttyös," which means "spotted," and consequently, they adopted this slogan.
- When it comes to sweets, it's hard to imagine anything better than almond and marzipan-flavored chocolate. In the early 1930s, a young Hungarian confectioner, Mátyás Szamos, learned from a Danish master how to make marzipan figures, including roses. Over the years, in addition to various marzipan creations, cakes and candies have also been made there, which are still produced today. In Estonia, the first marzipan, which was the coat of arms of Tallinn, was made in an apothecary in the 17th century. Confectioners have been making this delicacy since the 18th century. One of them, Lorenz Cavietzel, a confectioner of the Swiss III Guild, bought the building and opened the café 'Maiasmokk', where marzipan was made among other pastries.
- Pig slaughter. I know it might sound brutal and strange, but it's an old Hungarian custom. During this time, family members gather to slaughter and process a pig, and also simply to talk, eat, and drink together. One of the most popular dishes prepared is blood sausage. It is eaten with pickled cucumbers at any time of year, at least by those who enjoy it, as it is still a divisive dish. In Estonia, it is more of a Christmas specialty, prepared with barley instead of rice and buns, and eaten with cranberry jam. However, the taste is still equally good.
Beáta Pravetz
Volunteer at the European Solidarity Corps at Tartu Youth Work Center
