One more month before the crazy holiday season. Time to get out of the house for one last casual event before we’re all inundated with office, dance group, and friends’ Christmas parties.
Here’s what’s happening in the GTA:
Click on the date to be taken to the event’s information page.
November 7 – BALfolk Toronto is hosting their second bal in Toronto’s Annex. If you’re into the dance house feeling and want to try some Breton dancing, go check them out. The evening starts with a family workshop at 6:30 pm.
November 28-December 21 – Toronto Christmas Market – If you’re looking for a European Christmas market feeling, but can’t get over to the old country, head down to the Distillery for some good food, shopping and music.
Folk events elsewhere in Canada:
Click on the date to be taken to the event’s information page.
November 27-29 – Canadian Folk Music Awards – Until a few weeks ago, I had no idea these awards existed. And we’re not just talking about the North American country music type of “folk” music. There are categories for international and traditional folk music as well. Must keep an eye on this!
Folk events in the US:
Click on the date to be taken to the event’s information page.
November 1 – Csürdöngölő in New Brunswick, NJ is hosting a táncház along with a workshop from guest teacher Richard Reicher (Hungary) who will be teaching dances from Gömör (Northern Hungary). A great opportunity to learn from a professional!
November 22 – Kisbetyárok Hungarian Family Dancers and Forrás Banda are hosting a Széki táncház in Seattle, WA. They’re including a dance workshop in the afternoon taught by Lajos Miklós and Flora Carlile-Kovacs. This is also great opportunity to learn from people with first hand experience living and dancing in Szék (aka Sic, Transylvania/Romania)
Traditional Folk Calendar
Most of these are based on events in the Hungarian traditional folk calendar, but there is definitely some overlap with other cultures. Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below.
All Saints’ Day – November 1 – The beginning of November is a biggie in the Hungarian folk calendar. The day after Halloween has been around for hundreds of generations, at least since the 10th century, when it was found mentioned in a German missal. Traditionally, this was a day to visit your ancestor’s graves, tidy them up and light candles in their memory. It was also thought that the souls of the deceased visited their families at this time, so an extra place was often set at the table in their honour. All Saints’ Day was also a time for young men looking for work to go to the market and meet with landowners, making agreements for the next year. This was the famous legényvásár, literally the “young men’s market” that you’ll find mentioned in Hungarian folk songs.
Day of the Dead – November 2 – It was believed that the night between November 1st and 2nd was when the dead held mass in the churches. In many places, it was custom not to do any washing, sometimes for the entire week, in the belief that the dead would be standing in the wash water or your clothes would turn yellow. It was also tradition to continue to visit the graves of dead loved ones and many of the traditions from the day before carried over, again, often lasting 3-5 days.
St. Martin’s Day – November 11 – Ever been to Szék around this time of year? Half the village is name Marton, so this is a huge name day and feast day. But not just in Szék. It was a feast day in many regions of Hungary, but the most famous was in Dunaszerdahely. It was also tradition for the shepherds to give the landowners a cane in exchange for some coins. It was thought that however many branches this cane had, the landowner could count on that many piglets being born in the spring. In many places, they’d also use this cane to drive the animals out to pasture again in the spring.
St. Andrew’s Day – November 30 – Want to know who you’re going to marry? Today is a day to try your hand at divination when it comes to finding your love. If you go out to your refuse pile at sunrise, whichever direction you hear a dog bark first is the direction your true love will appear. Or try sleeping with a shirt of the opposite sex tucked under your pillow to dream about your love. Might sound a little fanciful, but St Andrew’s day was all about forecasting your love. And not just in Hungary. According to Wikipedia, you’ll find similar customs from Central to Eastern Europe.
Did we leave something out? Let us know in the comments and we’ll add it to the list!
Foundling Folk 