Happy Easter Monday!

Happy Easter Monday!  Today is a holiday here in Hungary.  Most Hungarians are visiting friends and family and stores and businesses are closed.  In the countryside, it is the day for the traditional "sprinkling of the girls."  The young men and boys go to the homes of their female friends and family, recite a cute little poem about watering the pretty spring flowers and then ask the young lady if they can "sprinkle" her.  They will drag her outside and toss a bucket of water on her.  The young lady is then expected to give the young man a treat of an Easter egg, cake, or something!  In the cities, the tradition is changed slightly.  Instead of tossing buckets of water, the young men spray the ladies with cheap perfume. 

It is cold here in Hungary today.  We even had snow flurries this morning, so the sprinkling with buckets of water outside may be curtailed in the villages, but the perfuming is going on as usual.  I could smell the distinct aroma of cheap perfume coming from the young ladies I passed on the street this morning.  Our friend Dezső told us last week that he was looking forward to being back in his village this week.  One thing he was looking forward to was catching his wife and daughter by surprise today and dousing them with a glass of water in the house.  Then he laughed a mischievous laugh.  At least it's a fun tradition for the guys!