52 László Mód form of grape harvest feast arose in Hungary and spread even to regions where the climatic conditions did not allow the cultivation of vines and wine-making. This type of feast comprised the following structural elements: (1) a parade with horse-drawn carts and participants dressed in special costumes (csőszök—field guards, hegybíró—leader of the vineyard community); (2) dancing and playing music in a hall decorated with agricultural products, especially bunches of grapes; (3) stealing the decorations and punishing those who were caught. A wreath composed of bunches of grapes became a central symbol; among the many variants in Hungary, most common were bell-shaped wreaths.2 Participants would wear the distinctive “Hungarian costumes” that became popular from the 1880s on.3 Fig. 1. The participants of the grape harvest feast in Hungarian costumes, 2014 (Photo: László Mód) 2 Hungarian ethnographer Attila Fajcsák provides an analysis of the wreath’s types and use, in which he emphasizes that carrying the wreath of grapes almost certainly occurred already in the 18th century. If the wreath was made for an event organized by an association of some kind, the wealthier vine-growers provided the quantity of grapes needed (1987: 356). 3 According to Zoltán Fejős, this costume can be regarded as one of the defining elements among the symbols of the harvest ball. The so-called Hungarian costume already had a symbolic character when it was invented. It was probably spread in the 1880s by vernacular theater companies and public education. It embodied the “national costume ideal” among different social groups (1987: 267–282).
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