Hungarian Christmas Witch Hunt | Why Men In Hungary Build A Chair To Spot Witches

HUNGARIAN CHRISTMAS WITCH HUNT - This strange Christmas tradition is not practiced in Hungary anymore but locals still know the folklore. December 13th is St. Lucy’s Day when, according to the story, Hungarian men each began building a ‘Lucy chair’ or Luca szék. The men had to work on the chair - which is actually a stool - each day leading up to Christmas Eve and use nine different types of wood and tools made only of wood. The chair had to be finished by December 24th when each man took his stool to church. During the church service, they would stand on their stools at the back of the congregation and look at the backs of women’s heads. The special powers of the stool allowed the men to see witches so they were looking for their horns. Once a man spotted a witch, he had to run home and burn the stool in the fire right away. The witch, sensing her true identity had been revealed, would follow him home. In order to slow her down, and give himself a better chance of getting home to burn his stool, the man would scatter poppy seeds on the road. The story goes that when a witch comes across poppy seeds she must pick them up one at a time.

I thought you’d find this an interesting tradition to learn about, even though it’s not practiced anymore. ‘Lucy chairs’ are not common in Hungary now - try finding one! - so we thought it’d be more fun to act the story out. A very dramatic retelling indeed!

What do you think of this bygone tradition? Stranger than Krampus maybe?

Subtitles available in English, Hungarian, and Spanish! Click the 'CC' button (bottom right).

MY VLOGMAS 2017 SERIES
This December I’m doing Vlogmas on my channel! Vlogmas is usually where you daily vlog each day of December leading up to Christmas. I’m doing my own version where I’ll upload new videos three times per week on my regular schedule (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays) and each ‘episode’ will be Christmas themed from my travels in Europe! I’ll be exploring Christmas markets - and trying all the special foods - in 6 different countries and learning about unique and sometimes crazy-sounding Christmas traditions. I absolutely love this time of year. I’m looking forward to experiencing all the different ways people celebrate and sharing it with you.

---

ABOUT ME
I'm a Canadian travelling around the world with my boyfriend, Marc. I left my home, bought a one way ticket, and don't have a plan. Come along for the adventure! PLEASE SUBSCRIBE for more videos by clicking that gorgeous red 'subscribe' button. Don't forget to hit the little bell beside it to receive notifications of new uploads (three times per week)!

---

USE THIS CODE FOR $50 AIRBNB TRAVEL CREDIT:
www.airbnb.com/c/emccurdy3

---

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
INSTAGRAM = https://instagram.com/eileenaldis (@eileenaldis)
TWITTER = https://twitter.com/eileenaldis (@eileenaldis)
FACEBOOK = https://www.facebook.com/eileenaldis (@eileenaldis)

GEAR USED TO MAKE VIDEOS
*Small camera: https://goo.gl/mPRPfW
*Medium camera + lens: https://goo.gl/qS8eCN
*Big camera: http://amzn.to/2oY3jvw
*Flying camera: http://amzn.to/2pXTPBN
*Camera on a stick: http://amzn.to/2oofUJN
*Underwater camera: http://amzn.to/2psMEBq
*Tripod: http://amzn.to/2oDVVSr

Disclaimer
*If you purchase something using one of the marked links, I make a small percentage from that sale. This doesn't affect my opinions and it helps my channel so I can make more videos :)

Видео Hungarian Christmas Witch Hunt | Why Men In Hungary Build A Chair To Spot Witches канала Eileen Aldis