Hungarian Days 2026 is in full swing. I shouldn’t say swing. I misused that word before, or its participles and derivatives, and it got me into real trouble.
Okay, Hungarian Days has fully started. I hope there are no unintentional metaphors there. But you can get juice at the Hungarian Days. I mean, real juice, not that sugar coated lemonade or partial “nectar” that mixes juice, the real thing.
And yes, there are Langos. And Kurtos. And placintas of different sorts. Lots and lots of food choices, almost as many as in Iulius Mall. But that’s not what I mean by something for everything. What I mean is this.
WARNING – do not take hoarders anywhere near the Hungarian Days market stalls. There are so many cool little trinkets to buy, from a thumb-sized scoop (like in the two-scoops adverts for raisin bran) and other miniature wooden utensils, to cool Romanian sheep coats to legos. You heard that right, I saw legos there.
I also saw two different styles of locally made puppets. There are the usual Cluj puppets that I have grown to love, the simple design that once was available in the mall next to Auchan, and now has gone back to its original market-stall home, and there is a more detailed type that felt new and fresh.
Okay, I didn’t see any guns or cars. I saw cars in the roads, but not for sale in Hungarian days. And while there were raffles, the casinos of Cluj are not part of the days. I saw books for adults, but didn’t notice any “adult” products there. What I saw is okay for children under 18, except perhaps for the wine, which might have an age minimum. But nothing you’d have to be 18 to look at.
I should say, something for everyone who I would care buying a present for. If the only thing you want for Christmas is a gun, then sorry, you’re not getting one from me. I can buy a rolling pin at the market, however, to hit you over the head with. No, but more likely there are all kinds of fun wooden toys.
I wish I was shopping for kids this year. So many fun looking toys.
Okay, I also didn’t see any live animals. There was plenty of food, including meat, and some of the nice clothes and stuff might have been made with leather (and I definitely saw wool) but no pets in Hungarian Days.
It was kind of crowded, so not a lot of people brought their pets. Actually, I don’t think I saw any pets (I don’t know how they would handle that crowd, or the loudness if they went near the music in the center square). What I did see was water and food left out by some of the events to welcome animals. Maybe the heat kept them in?
In any case, the biggest complaint I had was the multiplicity of sponsors. Some activities that might have been free last year asked for a donation. I mean, you can ask for a donation, but this was American-Baptist-church pass-the-tithe-bucket kind of asking. Not everyone, of course, the stands just sell you products…
If I forced myself to complain about something else, which I secretly like, is not everything is completely “Hungarian.” There are some traditional Romanian clothing items available, and Romanian snacks, and we saw someone with a Korean corn dog (or cheese dog, I’m not sure which). Maybe they got that nearby? I should have asked where.
Ice cream, corn on the cob, legos (as we’ve said before), lots of other international things. The music had touches of Celtic and reggae influences. Yoga in Hungarian language I guess has the language link.
The leaflets are only in Romanian and Hungarian this year, but if you speak bad enough Romanian to some of the shops, you will learn that some of them speak English.