Hi, it’s Liz.
This episode is special to me. It’s a Christmas story my mom, Elizabeth Szabo, wrote – and I wanted to bring it back during the holidays because this is the time of year when we think about family and traditions.
My mom wasn’t perfect. But she understood something important: you don’t have to be perfect to create meaningful traditions. You don’t have to do it all, and you don’t have to do it flawlessly. You just need to make the effort to connect.
She started Magyar Marketing back in 1988 because she saw that it was getting harder for people to stay connected to their heritage. Communities were changing. Families were spreading out across the country. And she wanted to help.
This story she wrote captures something about the Christmas season in Hungary – the anticipation, the simplicity, the focus on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day rather than the weeks of commercial buildup we have here in the United States.
Traditions are small acts of love. Small ways of saying “I remember who you are. I remember where we come from.”
So, here’s my mom’s story, “Christmas in Hungary.” I hope it gives you a glimpse into what the season was like in Hungary and maybe inspires you to think about what small traditions you want to keep alive in your own life.
You can read the story here:
Thank you for listening to my mom’s story.
You know, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what she taught me – not through big lectures or grand gestures, but through small, consistent acts. Like writing this story. Like starting a business to help people stay connected.
She wasn’t trying to preserve Hungarian heritage perfectly. She was just trying to keep it alive. To keep it going. To pass it on to her kids and her grandkids.
And I think that’s what we’re all doing, really. We’re not going to do it perfectly. Some years we’ll remember all the traditions, and some years we’ll forget half of them. Some years we’ll go all out, and some years we’ll just barely manage. It all depends on what is going on that year.
But we keep trying. We keep the stories alive.
If this story resonated with you, I hope you’ll share it with someone – maybe someone who remembers Christmas in Hungary, or someone who’s trying to figure out how to keep their heritage alive for the next generation.
And if you want to explore more ways to celebrate your Hungarian heritage, sign up for our e-newsletter so you can stay connected and be inspired and encouraged to pass it on to the next generation. Sign up here! https://hungarianliving.com/contact/
Until next time, Boldog karácsonyt – Merry Christmas – and thank you for being part of this community.
