A set of revolutions took place in the Austrian Empire from 1848-1849. In Hungary, on March 15th, 1848, Sándor Petőfi recited the National Song (Nemzeti Dal) from the stairs of the Hungarian National Museum before thousands of people. Petőfi’s passionate recitation marks the beginning of the revolution against the Habsburg regime. Hungarians still commemorate the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and the following War of Independence against the Austrian-Habsburg rule from 1848 – 1849. It is one of the most determinative events in Hungary’s modern history, forming a cornerstone of modern Hungarian national identity. This national holiday is celebrated in many ways throughout Hungary but also by Hungarians all around the world. The tri-colored cockade pictured here is one of the symbols of this revolution. You can check out this YouTube tutorial on how to make one. It looks pretty easy, but the instructions are in Hungarian. If you don’t have red, white, and green ribbon, you can use buttons or construction paper. At the end of this post is a link to instructions for crocheting a cockade.
We have listed a wide variety of activities for you to make a deeper connection with this event.
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National Song
Rise Up, Magyar
Rise up, Magyar, the country calls!
It’s ‘now or never’ what fate befalls…
Shall we live as slaves or free men?
That’s the question – choose your ‘Amen’!
God of Hungarians,
we swear unto Thee,
We swear unto Thee – that slaves we shall
no longer be!
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Nemzeti dal
Talpra magyar
Talpra magyar, hí a haza!
Itt az idõ, most vagy soha!
Rabok legyünk, vagy szabadok?
Ez a kérdés, válasszatok!
A magyarok istenére
Esküszünk,
Esküszünk, hogy rabok tovább
Nem leszünk!
If you are learning Hungarian — either in our language classes or on your own — I encourage you to commit the first verse of the National Song to memory. It’s a fun challenge!
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You may have heard about the 12 points of the revolution. Here is what the Hungarian nation wanted:
- Freedom of the press, the abolition of censorship.
- Independent Hungarian government.
- Annual national assembly.
- Civil and religious equality before the law.
- A national army.
- Universal and equal taxation, including the aristocracy.
- The abolition of the feudal system.
- Juries and courts based on an equal legal representation.
- A national bank.
- The army must take an oath on the Constitution, send our soldiers home, and take foreign soldiers away.
- Freedom for political prisoners.
- Union with Transylvania.
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Click on this link -to download the -> WORD SEARCH to print out a word search puzzle that contains important words and concepts connected to the Hungarian Revolution of 1848! Enjoy the challenge!
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If you like to crochet, you can make your own cockade following the instructions HERE!
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Here are a few coloring pages to PRINT and COLOR — fun for all ages!
Special thanks to Kata Szekeres, Sam Berry, and Elizabeth M. Vos for their contributions to the coloring pages!
If you would like to see the all the verses of the National Song (Nemzeti dal) in English and Hungarian, CLICK HERE!
We love helping you discover, celebrate, and share Hungarian heritage!
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