State Foundation Day (St Stephen's Day)

20 August is Hungary's greatest national holiday — the day of the founding of the state and of the first king, Saint Stephen. A member of the Árpád dynasty, Stephen was crowned in 1000 and united the Hungarian tribes in a single Christian kingdom; he was canonised on 20 August 1083.

The Hungarians arrived in the Carpathian Basin from the Eurasian steppes at the end of the 9th century and preserved their nomadic traditions and ancient ties with the Turkic peoples. That historical closeness lives on: since 2018 Hungary has been an observer of the Organization of Turkic States.

How it is marked

In Budapest the national flag is ceremonially raised, a procession carries Stephen's preserved right hand — the Holy Right — and the bread of the new harvest is blessed. In the evening one of Europe's largest firework displays lights up the Danube.