Wednesday, August 20, 2008

St. Stephen's Day and the Flower Carnival

Yes, we're still here...I've just been busy (or procrastinating?) and haven't posted in a while.

Today is a really important holiday in Hungary--St. Stephen's Day.  It commemorates the founding of the Hungarian state in 1000 A.D. by the first king of Hungary, King Stephen.  His name in Hungarian is "Istvan" [EESHT-vahn].  Here are a couple of pictures I took of some of the people in the parade in traditional Hungarian dress:

          



Here are some little flag twirlers:



And some people from an Italian drill team (people come from a lot of countries to participate in the Flower Carnival here in Debrecen):




Finally, here's a little video I took of parts of the parade:



Hungary was founded as a Christian nation way back in 1000 AD, but to most people it is simply a cultural Christianity and not something that touches their everyday lives. Please pray that the people will come to realize that a Christian
heritage cannot take the place of a personal relationship with Christ,
and that Hungarian believers will take this opportunity to share their
faith with those around them. Pray that Hungary will become a country
that is not only culturally Christian, but also known as a place where
the Lord is truly honored in the hearts and lives of the people.

 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (Psalm 33:12a).

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

How cool! That's looks like it must have been so much fun to see.It's cool that Hungary has those Christian roots and ties, that's one venue that can really be used by the Lord!
Praying for y'all,Hannah
Ps. I'm starting college classes!